Jayson Tatum buried a 17-foot jumper at the overtime buzzer to cap a 40-point night, and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-124 on Tuesday night for their third straight victory.
Tatum finished 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 the Celtics, who have not lost since they blew a 22-point lead in their season opener at Detroit.
Tatum’s Milestone Night
Tuesday marked Tatum’s first 40-point game since he returned in March from a torn right Achilles. He joined Larry Bird, who did it 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. It was also Tatum’s third career buzzer-beater, which ties Bill Sharman for third most in Celtics 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 became the first player in NBA history with at least 40 points and a game-winning buzzer-beater in a game before November.
Nets Fall Short Again
Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Brooklyn (0-4), and Julius Randle scored 24 points. The Nets have opened 0-4 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history.
Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr. made a tying 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation. In overtime, however, he missed a layup with 2.3 seconds left that would have set up the 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 at the tying 3. Robinson, a career 50.7% free throw shooter, went 1-of-4 from the line and is 2-of-8 this season.
Late Lead Changes and Shooting Trends
With 33.7 seconds remaining 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 for a 114-111 lead.
Neither team led by more than eight points. The Nets went ahead 109-104 on a basket by Randle with 2:57 left before the Celtics rallied.
Boston made just 2 of 16 3-point attempts in the first half but trailed only 61-56 at the break. The Celtics fared better from long range after halftime, going 9-of-22.