The Brooklyn Nets came within one final defensive possession of their first win Tuesday, only for Jayson Tatum to make a jumper as overtime expired and give the Boston Celtics a 125–124 victory. The NBA confirmed the basket after replay review. Brooklyn fell to 0–4 despite forcing the extra period and taking a late lead in Boston, a particularly difficult ending for a team still trying to convert competitive stretches into a complete result.
Tatum scored 40 points and made all 18 of his free-throw attempts, a career high from the line. His last shot supplied the winning margin, but Boston needed his production throughout the night. Paul George added 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as the Celtics won their third straight after dropping their opener. Boston improved to 3–1, while Brooklyn remained one of the league’s winless teams.
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Brooklyn also received the late shot it needed in regulation when rookie Mikel Brown Jr. made a three-pointer to force overtime. That sequence showed the composure of a young roster under pressure: the Nets created a clean opportunity, converted it and then gave themselves another five minutes against one of the Eastern Conference’s strongest teams.
The overtime period stayed within a single possession. Brooklyn moved ahead late, but Boston retained the final chance. Tatum worked into a pull-up jumper and released it just before the horn. Officials reviewed the timing and confirmed the on-court ruling of a good two-point basket. The league’s replay archive records the play as an end-of-period field goal, and the NBA’s October 28 officiating page lists the game among its last-two-minute reports.
For Brooklyn, the distinction between performance and outcome is important. The Nets did many of the things required to win on the road: they recovered from difficult stretches, got high-level production from Porter, found a pressure shot from Brown and carried a lead into the final seconds of overtime. But close games are often decided by one possession, and the last defensive stand left Tatum enough space to rise for a shot he has made many times in his career.
The 0–4 record will draw attention, yet it does not mean all four performances have looked the same. Brooklyn’s challenge is to preserve the resilience shown in Boston while reducing the smaller mistakes that force late-game perfection. Free throws were one pressure point because Tatum repeatedly reached the line and did not miss. Defensive discipline, rebounding and execution after timeouts become magnified when the margin never grows beyond a possession.
There was also useful evidence for the Nets’ longer view. Brown’s tying three demonstrated confidence in a major moment, and Porter’s double-double showed how his size and shooting can anchor the offense. Close losses can accelerate development only if the team turns specific possessions into lessons. The objective is not to celebrate competitiveness at 0–4, but to identify repeatable actions that can produce a different final minute the next time.
Brooklyn now must move quickly from the emotion of a buzzer-beater to its next assignment. The record says the Nets are still searching for a win; the Boston game says the distance may be narrow. Their task is to make the outcome less dependent on a star opponent’s final shot by protecting the ball, defending without fouling and building leads earlier. Until then, Tuesday will stand as the closest result of the young season and its most painful ending.
Sources: Reuters NBA roundup; NBA game recap; NBA last-two-minute reports. Reviewed October 28, 2026. Development: October 27, 2026.