The Boston Celtics were supposed to have this one under control. They were at home, on the second night of a back-to-back, and had already taken care of business the night before with a 134-99 rout of the Chicago Bulls while resting most of their key players. Instead, they needed overtime, then a Jayson Tatum bailout, and finally a 125-124 escape against the Brooklyn Nets.
For Celtics fans, it was the kind of finish that drains the life out of a game that should have been straightforward. Bill Simmons captured the mood in his post on X: “The Celtics just survived the Dumb Crunch-Time Olympics. Tatum!!!!!”
Boston’s late-game execution unraveled in a hurry. With about four seconds left in regulation, Tatum had a chance to seal it at the line.
He missed one of his free throws, leaving the Celtics up only four, 117-113. Then came the loose-ball foul that gave Brooklyn another opening, and Julius Randle missed one of his free throws to keep Boston ahead by three.
That’s where things got messy. The Celtics inserted Mitchell Robinson to grab the rebound, but the Nets fouled him right away.
Robinson, who entered the night as a career 50.7% free-throw shooter, missed both attempts. Brooklyn made the most of the second life it was handed, and Mikel Brown Jr. buried a tough triple from the left corner to force overtime.
Overtime brought one more twist, and this time Brown was the one who blinked. With the Nets up by one and the shot clock off, he went up for a layup instead of trying to draw contact and get to the line. The shot didn’t fall, Boston cleaned up the miss, and Tatum finished the job with the game-winner over the rookie’s head.
In Other News...
Jayson Tatum Just Delivered A Celtics Reminder In Crunch Time
Jayson Tatum spent 42 minutes reminding everyone why the Celtics can still lean on him when a game turns chaotic, and Boston needed every bit of it in a 125-124 overtime win over the Nets. He was efficient, steady and all over the stat sheet, piling up 40 points on 50% shooting with eight assists, five rebounds and a block while keeping his turnover count at zero.
The performance also pushed Tatum deeper into the Celtics record book, where he added more franchise marks tied to scoring, playmaking and efficiency. Paul George, meanwhile, also left his mark by setting a Celtics record for steals per game, but the lasting image from this one was Tatum taking control when the game was hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]
Mitchell Robinson Sparks Tense Celtics Flashpoint In Tight Nets Battle
A tense moment briefly overtook TD Garden in the first half when Celtics center Mitchell Robinson got into a verbal exchange that pulled players and coaches toward the Nets bench. The back-and-forth gave an otherwise tight game a jolt, and Robinson was already having a solid first-half impact with seven points and three rebounds by halftime.
The incident also came with a technical foul for Robinson, adding another layer to a game that already had a competitive edge to it. Boston carried an 86-82 lead into the fourth quarter, with the kind of playoff-style friction that can linger as the game gets late. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Have A Payton Pritchard Debate That Could Grow Fast
Payton Pritchard has settled into the kind of role that has become valuable to the Celtics in recent years, coming off the bench as a spark and helping drive the offense in the minutes that often decide games. He was a key part of Bostons 2024 title run, then followed that by winning Sixth Man of the Year the next season, which only sharpened the conversation around how much the Celtics should be using him.
Joe Mazzulla appears content to keep Pritchard in that sixth-man lane, with Jordan Walsh getting the start instead, but the debate is starting to bubble up for a reason. When the Celtics are short-handed, there is a clear case for giving Pritchard more runway with the first group, and his shot creation has become too important to treat as a luxury no matter where he enters the game. [Read more 🡒]