Jayson Tatum put on a career-high 40 points, grabbed 18 career-best free throws and still needed a buzzer beater to go through in this thriller between the Celtics vs Nets. A wild run came down on the final two minutes of the overtime period at TD Garden Tuesday night as Boston's Tatum rose for a 17-foot shot from the left elbow to end the game on a high note, after Brooklyn hit the floor with a blown overtime lead and after Tatum's rookie three-pointer went over the rim, and three different looks from the Brooklyn point guard were missed during a game-tying period. Boston's win brought their record to 3-1 while the Nets dropped to 0-4 with Michael Porter Jr. contributing 27 points and 12 rebounds and Julius Randle adding 24 points.
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | OT | Final |
| Brooklyn Nets | 31 | 30 | 21 | 35 | 7 | 124 |
| Boston Celtics | 26 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 8 | 125 |
Boston trailed by three with four seconds remaining in regulation before a string of fouls-and-under from the home team put them in even going into overtime.
Boston looked to have it in hand late in the fourth quarter, leading 117-114 after Tatum made the first of two free throws with four seconds on the clock. He was unable to make the second, and what followed was a wild night of a typical overtime: Julius Randle made one free throw and intentionally missed the other to prevent the clock from running out, and then Mitchell Robinson — who is no stranger to being an underwhelming free throw shooter — took the offensive rebound and missed both of his shots before a Boston timeout allowed rookie Mikel Brown Jr. to blast a corner three with 0.2 seconds remaining to tie the game at 117-117 and push into overtime.
It carried over into the extra session, as Brooklyn piled on the pressure. Randle's inside game took BOS to the edge with a pair of tries, and the Nets went up 124-119 with two minutes to play before Brown took his own shot to the inside and went out. Paul George responded on the free-throw line to bring the score to 124-123 — and the Nets had more opportunities to take it to the bank, but they failed to do so. Brown missed a three with 44 seconds left, while Tatum was blocked on a layup with 28 seconds to go, and Brown missed a dagger layup with the final five seconds. He had one more shot seconds later at an open layup, and missed that one as well, giving Boston one more shot. In the last minute, Tatum took advantage of an opening at the left elbow and knocked the jumper away with a buzzer-beater, as the TD Garden crowd cheered out at midcourt with the crowd chanting "MVP.
Tatum's final line: 40 points on 10-of-20 shooting with 2-of-7 three-pointers, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 42 minutes. Almost half of his points on the night came off the floor at the free-throw line, with his jump shot activities otherwise failing to produce any points for Boston. Paul George collected 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, including the free throws which helped Boston stay in the game in overtime. Tatum's jumper at the buzzer with no time left was the game-wornering touch, but Jordan Walsh still had 15 points off the bench and Derrick White 16 points and seven assists.
The loss will hurt more for how close they were for Brooklyn. Michael Porter Jr. had 6-of-12 from 3-point range, grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Nets with 27 points, while Julius Randle had the second-highest scoring average, adding nine boards and fouling out late in overtime with 24 points. Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. took the corner three in overtime, and put Brooklyn up five points fast in the first overtime, before missing three down the stretch shots to win or tie that included an open layup with 2.3 seconds remaining. He recorded 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting, 5 assists and 5 rebounds to go along with. Brooklyn's bench had it too with Chaney Johnson, Nolan Traore and Moritz Wagner all finding the back of the net to keep the Nets in the game as the starters faded.
Brooklyn Nets — 124
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 40 | 27 | 12 | 2 | 8-16 | 6-12 |
| Julius Randle | 44 | 24 | 9 | 4 | 10-23 | 0-7 |
| Day'Ron Sharpe | 17 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2-4 | 0-1 |
| Nolan Traore | 24 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 6-9 | 1-2 |
| Egor Dëmin | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1-3 | 0-2 |
| Chaney Johnson (bench) | 29 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 5-9 | 3-6 |
| Mikel Brown Jr. (bench) | 28 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 5-17 | 4-11 |
| Keon Ellis (bench) | 25 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1-6 | 0-4 |
| Noah Clowney (bench) | 24 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1-1 | 1-1 |
| Moritz Wagner (bench) | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 6-9 | 2-4 |
Team totals: 124 PTS, 48 REB, 26 AST, 45-97 FG, 17-50 3PT
Boston Celtics — 125
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT |
| Paul George | 36 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 8-16 | 1-6 |
| Jayson Tatum | 42 | 40 | 5 | 8 | 10-20 | 2-7 |
| Jordan Walsh | 24 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 5-8 | 3-5 |
| Mitchell Robinson | 25 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 3-4 | 0-0 |
| Derrick White | 33 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 5-15 | 1-7 |
| Sam Hauser (bench) | 25 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 4-9 | 3-8 |
| Payton Pritchard (bench) | 24 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2-7 | 0-3 |
| Baylor Scheierman (bench) | 21 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1-5 | 1-3 |
| Neemias Queta (bench) | 15 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3-3 | 0-0 |
| Luka Garza (bench) | 13 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1-4 | 0-1 |
Team totals: 125 PTS, 47 REB, 32 AST, 42-93 FG, 11-41 3PT
The Chicago Bulls come to Boston on Friday, October 30th to continue their winning tradition. The Detroit Pistons play the same day in Brooklyn, where they lost their first game of the year in the final seconds.
A two point overtime contest with three missed go-ahead looks by the road team in the final two minutes is the type of game that will have bettors waiting for the next time series from both teams. Meanwhile, Brooklyn's late execution (Randle's deliberate foul shot, Mikel Brown Jr.'s three empty overtime possessions) is a big worry to those hoping against hope that a deadlocked Brooklyn can beat a winless team late in the game — and with both Porter Jr. and Randle playing well enough to win most nights anyway. Tatum's 18 free throws on a night his jumper was far from reliable (10-of-20 overall) is something to keep an eye on as the Celtics look to get to the line more often than they do, and that's a team that needs to work on that before they can move on to stiffer competition on their home court. Review the real-time NBA predictions from Check Sports OKBet on the odds of both teams' lines changing for Friday's games.
It's just that a one-point overtime finish that comes off a buzzer-beater is exciting to watch, but also a reminder of how random it's possible for one possession to be — so don't go chasing one on the next one. Set a budget for each bet and, if you ever need a "time out" or a deposit limit, use PAGCOR's tools for responsible gaming.
This was a type of game that will be remembered in the final 30 seconds rather than the 47 minutes that had led to these moments. Finally, with a game tying three, a five point overtime advantage and three times the opportunity to win the game, Brooklyn was never able to make the shot in Boston. Boston couldn't get a second shot, as Jayson Tatum loaded the game with points on the night, but then capped it with the one that mattered on the night. The Celtics vs Nets recap matchup delivered exactly that kind of drama, as the Celtics have gone three games without a loss, while the Nets are still looking for their first victory, and their stomach-churning defeat against Boston will be a nightmare on Friday against Detroit.
Boston won 125-124 in overtime at TD Garden on October 27, 2026.
He also registered 40 points on a career-high 18-of-22 from the field and five rebounds and eight assists in overtime.
Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. then capped a string of missed free throws from Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson with a corner three with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 117-117.
Boston will host Chicago on Friday, October 30, 2026 and Brooklyn will host Detroit on Friday, October 30, 2026.
