Jayson Tatum is back, and the Boston Celtics needed every bit of him. The Celtics star poured in 40 points and buried a pull-up jumper at the overtime buzzer on Tuesday night, lifting Boston to a dramatic 125-124 win over the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden in a game that swung wildly in the final seconds of regulation and again in the final seconds of overtime.
With 2.3 seconds left in the extra period and Boston trailing by one, Derrick White inbounded the ball to Tatum, who rose from the free-throw line and buried the winner as the horn sounded, sending the TD Garden crowd into a frenzy and extending Boston's winning streak to three games.
The finish was as wild as any the NBA has produced this season. Boston appeared to have the game in hand late in regulation when Derrick White threw down an and-one dunk to put the Celtics up by three. But the Nets refused to fold. Mitchell Robinson missed two free throws, Neemias Queta committed a poorly timed foul, and Brown got the opening he needed, drilling a three-pointer with two seconds remaining to tie the game at 117-117 and force overtime.
Overtime delivered one more twist. With 4.9 seconds left and Brooklyn ahead 124-123, White appeared to draw a foul that would have sent him to the free-throw line with a chance to tie or win the game. The Nets challenged the call, the officials overturned it, and Boston was left trailing by one with almost no time left. White then inbounded to Tatum, who did what superstars do, pulling up from the free-throw line and sinking the winner at the buzzer.
Tatum finished with 40 points, eight assists and five rebounds in 42-plus minutes of work, shooting 10-for-20 from the field and a remarkable 18-for-22 from the stripe. The 22 free-throw attempts set a new career high for the Celtics forward, a sign of how relentlessly he attacked Brooklyn's defence all night.
Paul George added 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Boston, White tallied 16 points and six assists, and Jordan Walsh chipped in 15 points, including three three-pointers. Boston won despite a dreadful night from beyond the arc, shooting just 11-for-41 (27 percent) from three-point range and making only two threes in the entire first half.
Tuesday's heroics carried extra weight because of what Tatum has been through. The Celtics star missed almost all of last season while recovering from a torn Achilles, an injury that can end careers, let alone seasons. His return to the floor this autumn has been one of the NBA's biggest storylines, and his postgame message on Tuesday was simple: he is starting to feel like himself again.
Speaking to NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chin after the game-winner, Tatum said he is beginning to feel more like himself after the long road back from the Achilles injury. The 40-point night, capped by the biggest shot of the young season, was the loudest evidence yet that the comeback is real.
Boston was also playing on the second night of a back-to-back, having routed Chicago 134-99 on Monday behind 28 points off the bench from Payton Pritchard. The Celtics' legs could have been an excuse. Instead, they found a way, leaning on their star when it mattered most.
For Brooklyn, the loss continued a miserable start. The Nets are 0-4, and Tuesday was the latest in a run of close calls: they have now played in two games they reasonably could have won, only to let both slip away. Head coach Jordi Fernandez shuffled his starting lineup for this one, giving Nolan Traore his first start of the season in place of Keon Ellis, and the rookie responded with his best game of the season to date, repeatedly getting into the paint against Boston's defenders.
Great players are ultimately judged by the shots they make when everything is on the line, and Tatum added another entry to his catalogue on Tuesday. The winner was not a lucky heave or a broken play. It was a clean, confident pull-up from the free-throw line, created by White's inbound pass and Tatum's calm in a moment when one mistake ends the game.
The performance also showed a different side of Tatum's game. With his three-point shot not falling for Boston as a team, he lived at the free-throw line, drawing contact again and again and converting 18 of 22 attempts. It was a mature, physical performance from a player whose game is often defined by the jump shot, and it came with zero turnovers in a game decided by a single point.
Brooklyn's effort deserved better. Porter was superb, scoring at all three levels and dominating the glass with 12 rebounds, while Julius Randle added 24 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Brown scored 17 points, including the clutch three that forced overtime, and Chaney Johnson and Mo Wagner added 15 points apiece off the bench. But the Nets could not get the one stop they needed at the very end, and Tatum made them pay.
Tatum told NBC Sports Boston after the game that he is starting to feel more like himself after missing almost all of last season while recovering from a torn Achilles, a remark that will hearten every Celtics fan who watched him fight back from the injury.
The Nets, meanwhile, were left to rue another one that got away. Brooklyn had already played in two games it reasonably could have won before arriving in Boston, and Tuesday followed the same painful script: a valiant effort, a late lead, and a final possession that belonged to the other team's superstar.
The numbers told the story of how close it was. Boston shot just 27 percent from three-point range. Brooklyn got 27 points and 12 rebounds from Porter and 24 points from Randle. And in the end, one point separated the teams, decided by one shot at one buzzer.
For Boston, the win is about more than a 3-1 record. It is proof that the Celtics can win ugly, win tired and win when their signature weapon, the three-point shot, deserts them. Three straight wins, including a back-to-back, is the kind of early-season resilience that builds belief in a locker room, and it is built around a superstar who looks increasingly like his old self.
For Brooklyn, the concern is real. An 0-4 start with two winnable games lost is how seasons slip away before November. The Nets have talent, Porter and Randle are producing, and young players like Traore and Brown are showing flashes, but moral victories do not count in the standings. Friday's home game against Detroit is already a big one for a team that cannot afford to keep waiting for its first win.
For the league, Tuesday was a reminder of what Tatum means to the NBA. A 40-point, no-turnover night finished by a buzzer-beater, in his first weeks back from an Achilles tear, is the kind of performance that defines a season's early narrative.
Boston takes its three-game winning streak into Friday's NBA Cup group-stage showdown with the Chicago Bulls, a rematch of Monday's 134-99 rout. The Celtics will be looking to keep the momentum rolling and to keep building Tatum's minutes and confidence after his long layoff.
Brooklyn returns home to host the Detroit Pistons on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, still seeking its first win of the 2026-27 season. The Pistons, who lost their first game of the season on Tuesday when the defending champion New York Knicks beat them 111-97 at Madison Square Garden, will arrive in Brooklyn with their own point to prove.
Elsewhere on Tuesday night, the Knicks' win over Detroit gave the defending champions their first victory of the season and handed the Pistons their first defeat, a result that reshapes the early Eastern Conference picture.
What was the final score of Celtics vs Nets?
The Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-124 in overtime at TD Garden on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
Who hit the game-winning shot?
Jayson Tatum hit a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line at the overtime buzzer, with 2.3 seconds left, after taking an inbound pass from Derrick White.
How many points did Jayson Tatum score?
Tatum scored 40 points on 10-of-20 shooting, went 18-for-22 from the free-throw line, and added eight assists, five rebounds and no turnovers.
What is the Nets' record after the loss?
Brooklyn fell to 0-4 and is still searching for its first win of the 2026-27 season. Boston improved to 3-1.
Who plays next for the Celtics and Nets?
Boston faces the Chicago Bulls on Friday in an NBA Cup group-stage game, while Brooklyn hosts the Detroit Pistons on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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