Jayson Tatum buried a jumper at the overtime buzzer Tuesday night to give the Boston Celtics a 125 to 124 win over the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden. It was his first buzzer beater since he tore his Achilles in the 2025 playoffs, and it capped a 40 point night.
The full line: 40 points on 10 of 20 shooting, a career high 18 made free throws, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and zero turnovers in 42 minutes. It was the 30th 40 point game of his career. The NBA noted the winner was his 7th career game winner with under 3 seconds left, the most by any player since the start of the 2019-20 season.
“Was a hell of a feeling. Just kind of getting back to doing things that I used to do before I was injured, and sharing that moment with my teammates on the court.”
Jayson Tatum, postgame, Tuesday night
Brooklyn almost stole it twice. Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. hit a tying three with a second left in regulation to force overtime, then missed a layup with 2.3 seconds left in the extra period that gave Boston the last shot. Paul George added 20 points for the Celtics, who have won three straight. The Nets are 0 and 4.
The shot also landed in the middle of the loudest conversation around Boston right now. Three days earlier, Jaylen Brown, now in Philadelphia, told reporters there is no beef with Tatum, just lamb chops, and joked about Tatum having a great PR team. After the winner, former Celtic Brian Scalabrine dropped the same line on the postgame show: a heck of a PR team.
Tatum said after the game that he is starting to feel like his old self again, 18 months removed from the tear. A 40 piece and a walk off winner at the Garden is what his old self looked like.