Tatum finished with 40 points and hit a 17-foot jumper at the overtime horn to beat Brooklyn 125-124.
Jayson Tatum settled it himself. With no time left in overtime, he got the ball off a Derrick White assist and buried a 17-foot pull-up jumper at the buzzer, giving the Celtics a 125-124 win over the Nets on Tuesday night.
Tatum finished with 40 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and a block, shooting 10-of-20 from the field and 18-of-22 from the line. It was his first 40-point game since returning from a torn Achilles, and the 30th of his regular-season career. Only Larry Bird has more such games in Celtics history, with 47.
The shot arrived with Tatum's name already circulating in conversation about his former teammate Jaylen Brown, and the moment quickly spread online, with fans and at least one ex-Celtics big man reacting to the game-winner. None of that changes the final score. Boston needed every one of those 40 points, plus a buzzer-beater, just to get past Brooklyn in overtime, a reminder that the Celtics' margins this season remain thin even on nights their best player does everything right.