The Brooklyn Nets came painfully close to leaving Boston with a win, only to watch Jayson Tatum bury the shot that ended it. The Celtics pulled out a 125-124 overtime victory, and the final sequence turned what had been a strong night for Brooklyn into a tough one to swallow.
Tatum led the way for Boston with 40 points on 10-of-20 shooting, along with eight assists, five rebounds and one block. Paul George chipped in 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while also adding seven rebounds and seven assists.
Brooklyn still has reasons to feel encouraged, even with the result going in the loss column. Mikel Brown Jr. posted 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting, five rebounds and five assists, and he sent the game to overtime with a triple that showed he has the clutch gene this early on in his career.
That stretch also came with the kind of growing pains young players run into. Brown had a couple of costly turnovers and some defensive deficiencies that might have cost the Nets a chance to finish the job, but getting those reps in high-leverage spots now can only help him going forward as a top option throughout his career.
Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. gave Brooklyn the kind of production it needs from its top two leaders. Randle finished with 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists after a rough outing, while Porter added 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 12 rebounds.
The two also looked more comfortable in ways that mattered. Porter’s offball movement was sharper, and Randle attacked the rim with more purpose. Even though Randle still leaned on jumpers, he knocked them down at a strong rate.
A defeat is still a defeat, and the Nets are not in the business of collecting moral victories this season. But they did control large portions of the game and were one buzzer-beater away from finishing the night with a statement win.
For a Brooklyn team still trying to define itself, the bigger picture was encouraging: it executed on both ends well enough to hang with a team that could represent the Eastern Conference in this years Finals. If there’s momentum to take from this one, the Nets have to carry it forward.
In Other News...
Jayson Tatum Just Delivered A Celtics Reminder In Crunch Time
Jayson Tatum spent overtime reminding the Nets why Boston still leans on him when the game tightens up. He logged 42 minutes, poured in 40 points on 50% shooting, handed out eight assists without a turnover, and added five rebounds and a block in a 125-124 Celtics win that felt as razor-thin as the final margin.
The performance also fit a bigger Celtics backdrop, with Tatum setting several franchise marks tied to scoring, assists and efficiency in the same night. Even in a one-point game, Boston got the sort of all-around control it wants from its best player, while Paul George also carved out a place in the record book with a Celtics steals mark of his own. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rotation Tweak Hit An Early Scare In Loss To Boston
The Nets latest look in the backcourt got a brief test against Boston, and it was interrupted before it could really settle in. Egor Dmin was making an early exit from the game after taking a knee from Paul George and suffering a right-leg contusion, a hit that forced Brooklyn to adjust on the fly while trying to sort out a new starting combination. The game itself still went deep, but the rotation wrinkle added another layer to a night the Nets would rather have done without.
Dmin downplayed the injury afterward and sounded optimistic about getting back soon, though the team has not put any kind of return date on him. For Brooklyn, the larger concern is not just the lost minutes in one overtime defeat, but what happens if the new backcourt arrangement has to keep changing before it gets a real chance to breathe. [Read more 🡒]
Nets May Have Avoided A Bigger Egor Demin Scare
Egor Demins night ended early in Brooklyns overtime loss to Boston, but the early read on the injury sounded more encouraging than the immediate reaction might have suggested. The Nets guard was forced out with a right leg contusion after bumping legs and did not return, adding another uneasy moment to a game that already slipped away late.
Demin said afterward that the issue is not serious and expects to be ready in a few days, though there was still some uncertainty about whether he would need imaging or be available for the next game. Brooklyn will keep an eye on his recovery with Detroit coming up, and after a loss like this, the bigger concern may be simply getting one of its young guards back on the floor quickly. [Read more 🡒]