The Toronto Raptors extended their franchise-record winning streak for 14 games on Saturday night, but the reason they haven't been able to open up much of a lead in second place in the Eastern Conference is because the Boston Celtics just keep on winning as well. Early on Sunday afternoon, Boston kept that trend going by taking down the Oklahoma City Thunder, 112-111, to win their seventh in a row, and 10th in their last 11 outings.

After a rough stretch in the middle of January, when they lost six out of eight games, the Celtics have turned things around, and answered any questions that were starting to arise about the true quality of their team. Seven of their 10 wins during this stretch have come against playoff teams, and they've been playing shorthanded in almost all of them. And if all that wasn't good enough, Jayson Tatum has spent the past month or so blossoming into a legitimate star right before our eyes.

Finishing with 26 points and 11 rebounds on 10-of-19 shooting, Tatum was back at it on Sunday to lead the Celtics past the Thunder. After a relatively quiet first half, he came to life in the third quarter, scoring 10 straight early in the frame to help Boston cancel out a double-digit deficit and get back into the game. Some of his drives to the basket were especially impressive. 

It was his ninth straight game with at least 20 points, which is by far the longest such streak of his career, and improved the Celtics' record to an astounding 26-4 this season when he scores 20-plus. 

Starting with his career-high 41-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans on Jan. 11, Tatum is now averaging 26.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 50 percent from the field and 47.3 percent from 3-point land over his last 12 games. During that time span, he's 10th in the league in scoring. Tatum is doing all of this by refining his shot selection and getting to the line. 

Tatum has been an impressive scorer since he entered the league, but his love affair with tough mid-range jumpers, and inability at times to finish at the rim or draw fouls, limited his impact. Now that he's cleaning up some of those aspects of his game, we're seeing just how elite he can be as a scorer. 

For a quick and easy look at the difference, just check out his heat chart from last season, vs. his heat chart from the current 12-game stretch. 

screen-shot-2020-02-09-at-7-34-55-pm.png
Tatum's heat chart last season, vs. his heat chart during his red-hot 12-game stretch.  NBA.com/Stats

As you'll notice, he's barely operating in the mid-range during this stretch, eschewing those looks for more 3s and more drives to the basket. 

For his career, Tatum is averaging just 3.3 free throws per game. For a player with his size, skillset and potential, that's just not enough. All of the elite scorers in the league are at that level in part because they can get to the line for a bunch of easy points every night. During this stretch, Tatum is up to 4.8 free throws per game, which has increased his season average to 4.2. Ideally that number will get even higher, but it shows he's trending in the right direction with his attack. 

Tatum's strong run has really been fueled by his outside shooting. Over his past 12 games, he's knocking down 47.3 percent of his 7.8 attempts per game, which is truly outrageous. And even though making 3s at that sort of clip is unsustainable, it's pretty clear at this point that he can be a strong, high-volume shooter. For the season, he's at 38.7 percent on 6.8 attempts, and for his career he's a 39.5 percent shooter. This may be a hot streak, but it's not a fluke. 

On a team with plenty of offensive talent, Tatum is making his case that he's the Celtics' best scorer, and is showing why he's heading to Chicago next week for his first All-Star Game. If he keeps playing like this, it won't be the last.