BOSTON — Jayson Tatum drilled a 17-foot pull-up jumper at the buzzer in overtime to lift the Boston Celtics to a dramatic 125-124 victory over the winless Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night at TD Garden.
Finishing with a game-high 40 points, Tatum caught an inbounds pass with 2.3 seconds left, took two dribbles to his left after creating a switch against Brooklyn rookie Mikel Brown Jr., and swished the winning basket, ClutchPoints and the New York Post reported. The triumph marked Boston’s third consecutive victory, moving the Celtics to 3-1, while Brooklyn dropped to 0-4 before an announced sellout crowd of 19,156.
Late regulation collapse forces overtime
Playing on the second night of a back-to-back following a contest against the Chicago Bulls, Boston struggled to pull away in a matchup where neither squad led by more than eight points, Celtics Wire reported. Brooklyn entered halftime holding a 61-56 advantage before Boston rallied late in the third quarter behind energetic hustle and two 3-pointers from Sam Hauser, according to Sports Illustrated.
The Celtics appeared poised to close out the win in regulation before a chaotic sequence opened the door for Brooklyn. With Boston leading by four, center Neemias Queta committed a reach-in foul with four seconds left while the team was in the penalty, Sports Illustrated reported. Julius Randle sank one free throw and intentionally missed the second. Mitchell Robinson then drew a foul on the rebound but missed both subsequent free throws, allowing Brown to drain a game-tying 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left to force overtime.
“We had the game won, went to overtime, and then had to win it again,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said, as reported by Sports Illustrated. “So we’ll learn from that.”
Rookie miscues pave way for Tatum’s heroics
Brooklyn surged ahead early in the extra period as Randle scored consecutive baskets to create a 121-117 cushion before fouling out with 24 points, the New York Post reported. Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 27 points, including six 3-pointers, while Nolan Traore and Mo Wagner added 15 points apiece.
Despite Brooklyn controlling most of the extra session, critical mistakes in the closing seconds proved decisive. Clinging to a 124-123 lead with the shot clock turned off, Brown drove for an errant layup rather than burning time off the clock, giving possession back to Boston with 2.3 seconds remaining, according to ClutchPoints and the New York Post.
On the ensuing inbounds play, the Nets inadvertently switched assignments despite pre-play instructions to stay attached to their primary matchups, leaving Brown isolated on Tatum rather than forward Noah Clowney, the Post reported.
“It’s just a broken play. I blame me,” Brown told the New York Post. “We weren’t supposed to switch that, and I switched it. Made a couple of mistakes down the stretch that hurt us, so I’m gonna take the blame on it.”
Clowney defended his rookie teammate while acknowledging the defensive miscommunication, telling the Post: “He’s aware. He’s young, but he’s very capable. He’s been beating himself up about it.”
Veterans carry Boston through back-to-back
Tatum delivered a relentless offensive push, making 18 of 22 free throws—both single-game career highs—while recording eight assists and five rebounds, according to the New York Post. Boston also leaned heavily on 36-year-old Paul George, who logged all 12 fourth-quarter minutes and contributed nine points and three assists in the frame, Sports Illustrated reported.
“I feel great,” George told reporters, according to Sports Illustrated. “I think, knock on wood, those days are behind me. I’ve been feeling really good health-wise. But the main goal is to get to the end of the year and be healthy at the end of the year.”
Sophomore wing Jordan Walsh also helped spark Boston’s perimeter attack by scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, Sports Illustrated reported. The Nets next look to capture their first win of the campaign Friday, while Boston moves forward after surviving the back-to-back test.
