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Jayson Tatum scores 40 and beats buzzer as Celtics edge Nets in overtime

Boston recovered from a late collapse in regulation to beat Brooklyn 125-124 at TD Garden, with Tatum deciding the game on its final shot.

NewsJaws DeskEditorial desk

Published 28 Oct 2026, 03:53 GMT2 min read

Jayson Tatum plays for the Boston Celtics against the Washington Wizards. — Jayson Tatum plays for Boston against Washington in a 2018 game. This is a file photograph. Tomas Satoransky, Jayson Tatum (41379784661) — Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA (resized and converted to WebP). CC BY-SA 2.0.Image source Image licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

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Jayson Tatum scored 40 points and hit an overtime buzzer-beater on Tuesday, October 27, to give the Boston Celtics a 125-124 win over the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden. His final shot settled a game Boston had led by four points in the closing seconds of regulation before Brooklyn forced overtime.

How Brooklyn forced overtime

Derrick White put Boston ahead with a dunk and a free throw, NBC Sports Boston reported. After Neemias Queta fouled out, Boston inserted Mitchell Robinson, according to the Boston Herald. Brooklyn fouled Robinson, who missed both free throws. Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr. then made a three-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Boston struggled to score early in the extra period, missing six of its first seven field-goal attempts, according to the Herald. Brooklyn opened a four-point lead, but its scoring stopped after a Michael Porter Jr. three-pointer with 2:01 left. Brown missed the Nets' final five shots, including two layups in the closing five seconds that could have secured the win.

Paul George collected the rebound after Brown's last miss and called timeout. On the ensuing possession, Tatum got past Brown and Keon Ellis before making a pull-up jumper from the left elbow as time expired, the Herald reported.

Tatum's 40-point night

Tatum made 18 of 22 free throws, a career high for made free throws, according to the Herald. He also had eight assists, five rebounds and a block, with no turnovers in 42 minutes. His scoring helped Boston recover after it lost its late regulation lead and fell behind in overtime.

NBC Sports Boston reported that Tatum had missed almost all of the previous season while recovering from an Achilles tear. Asked after the game about his motivation entering this season, he said, ‘Motivation was just about being present.’ The Celtics' next scheduled game is against the Chicago Bulls in NBA Cup group play on Friday, October 30, according to NBC Sports Boston.