Jayson Tatum buried a 17-foot jumper at the overtime buzzer to finish with 40 points, and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-124 on Tuesday night for their third straight victory.
Tatum went 10-of-20 from the field and 18-of-22 from the free throw line. Paul George added 20 points, and Derrick White scored 16 for Boston, which has not lost since it blew a 22-point lead in its season opener at Detroit.
It was Tatum’s first 40-point game since he returned in March from a torn right Achilles. He joined Larry Bird, who accomplished the feat twice, as the only players in Celtics history to score at least 40 points and hit a buzzer-beater in the same game, according to Basketball Reference. The same source shows it was Tatum’s third career buzzer-beater, which ties Bill Sharman for the third most in franchise history. Only Paul Pierce (6) and Bird (4) have more.
“That was a hell of a feeling,” Tatum said of the shot. “Just kind of getting back to doing things that, you know, I used to do before I was injured.”
Tatum also became the first player in NBA history to record at least 40 points and a game-winning buzzer-beater in a game before November.
Nets Fall Short Despite Late Rally
Michael Porter Jr. scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Brooklyn (0-4), and Julius Randle added 24 points. The Nets have opened 0-4 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history.
Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. made a tying 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left in regulation. In overtime, however, he missed a layup with 2.3 seconds remaining that set up Tatum’s winning basket. Brown, the sixth pick in the NBA draft out of Louisville, finished with 17 points.
Boston’s Mitchell Robinson missed two free throws with three seconds left in regulation, which gave Brooklyn a chance to tie the game from long range. Robinson, a career 50.7% free throw shooter, went 1-of-4 from the line and is 2-of-8 this season.
Late Plays Decide the Game
With 33.7 seconds left in regulation, White slipped behind the defense, and Tatum found him for a tiebreaking dunk. White was fouled on the play and converted the free throw to give Boston a 114-111 lead.
Neither team led by more than eight points. Brooklyn took a 109-104 lead on a Randle basket with 2:57 remaining before Boston rallied.
The Celtics made just 2 of 16 3-pointers in the first half but trailed only 61-56 at the break. They shot considerably better from long range after halftime, going 9-of-22.