Chris Paul had a front-row view of a wild finish between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics, and for a brief moment, rookie Mikel Brown Jr. had his spotlight.
With the Nets trailing by four and only a few seconds left in regulation, Brown drilled a 3-pointer to force overtime, the kind of shot that gets noticed instantly. Paul noticed it right away and posted his support on X, formerly Twitter.
“Mikel Brown Jr!! Big shot and could tell he wanted the ball for that shot,” Paul wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
But the praise didn’t last long. Near the end of halftime, the Celtics held the ball with a one-point deficit, and Jayson Tatum got the call. He delivered at the buzzer, finishing the game and prompting Paul to switch his attention.
“Even bigger shot by JT!!!!!!!!!” Paul wrote.
The game itself had plenty of chances for Brooklyn to steal it in overtime, but the Nets couldn’t close the door. Brown was in the middle of two costly plays late, first missing a wide-open layup that would have put Brooklyn ahead by three. Then, with another chance to extend the lead, he went for another layup instead of dribbling out the clock to get fouled, and that one missed too.
Boston took advantage from there, and Tatum ended it.
For Brown, it was the kind of early-season lesson that tends to stick. For Tatum, it was another big performance after the rough showing he had in the season opener.
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