9 takeaways as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown help Celtics cool Hornets’ hot start

Here are the takeaways as the Celtics claimed an important win over a sizzling Hornets team with some help from their best players on Monday.

1. Jayson Tatum had 41 points. Jaylen Brown had 30, including the play of the game (more on that in a minute). So who was the player of the game?

If you ask Ime Udoka, the answer was … Marcus Smart — 3-for-12 from the floor, 1-for-9 from 3-point range, and 2-for-2 in enormous defensive plays down the stretch. Smart took some heat from Celtics fans for his shooting, but he once again reminded everyone late why the Celtics believe in him.

“I said it to the group in there, I said, ‘I don’t care about the 41 and the 30 from you guys, Marcus had the play of…