Jayson Tatum capped a 40-point performance with the overtime buzzer-beater that gave Boston a 125-124 win over Brooklyn.
Jayson Tatum left the Boston Celtics with the last word at TD Garden on October 27, burying the jumper that decided a one-point overtime game against the Nets. The finish turned a difficult night into a victory, with Boston needing its leading scorer to deliver right at the horn.
Forty points, five rebounds and eight assists tell the broader story of Tatum’s contribution, as documented in Sportsnet’s game highlights. The final shot will get the replay treatment, but Boston also needed the scoring and creation that kept it within reach of that last possession.
The Brooklyn Nets had already denied the Celtics a regulation finish, with rookie Mikel Brown Jr. hitting the three-pointer that forced overtime. NBC Boston’s game report describes a closing sequence in which Boston’s missed free throws helped give Brooklyn another opening rather than ending the contest.
Boston had 2.3 seconds for its final play, and Derrick White delivered the inbound pass to Tatum before the winning pull-up. The NBA’s footage of the finish captures the basket at the overtime buzzer, the decisive answer after neither side had managed to put the game away.
It is another late-game result for Tatum early in the schedule, following his 36-point performance against New York in Boston’s home opener. The two games are separate tests, but both ended with the Celtics relying on his shot-making when a narrow margin left little room for error.
Chicago is next for Boston on Friday in NBA Cup group play, according to NBC Boston’s schedule update. For now, the Celtics can carry a win forward while still examining the regulation mistakes that made Tatum’s overtime intervention necessary.
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