Payton Pritchard poured in 32 points, and Jaylen Brown posted a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as the Boston Celtics outlasted the Brooklyn Nets 130–126 in double overtime on Friday night.
Boston survived a pair of late-game scares to secure its fourth win in the last five games. The Celtics never trailed in the second overtime, taking control when Anfernee Simons converted a three-point play to put Boston ahead for good. Sam Hauser followed with a clutch 3-pointer to make it 128–124 with 1:51 remaining, sealing the win.
The game was extended twice by dramatic finishes from Brooklyn. Nic Claxton forced the first overtime with a putback dunk with 1.9 seconds left in regulation and finished with 19 points. In the first extra period, Brooklyn built a 117–112 lead with 7.9 seconds remaining before Pritchard drilled a 3-pointer to keep Boston alive. After Nolan Traoré made just one of two free throws, Hugo González forced a second overtime with a corner 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left, taking a no-look pass from Baylor Scheierman and burying the wide-open shot.
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 30 points, and Traoré added a career-high 21 as Brooklyn nearly pulled off a stunning upset of the second-place team in the Eastern Conference just two days after a 120–66 loss to the New York Knicks. The Nets have now lost nine of their last 10 games.
Brown secured his fifth career triple-double by grabbing three rebounds in the second overtime. Boston had appeared in control late in regulation, leading 101–91 with just over three minutes remaining, but the Nets closed the quarter on a 13–3 run to force extra time.
Up next:
The Celtics travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Saturday night, while the Nets head west to take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
