Jayson Tatum lifts Celtics past Nets with OT buzzer-beater after brutal Mikel Brown blunder

Jayson Tatum called game on Tuesday night, but only after a brutal mistake from Mikel Brown on the other end.

Tatum drilled an easy buzzer-beater to lift the Boston Celtics past the Brooklyn Nets 125-124 on Tuesday. He took two dribbles off an inbounds pass and expertly pulled up from the elbow to hit a jumper he's made countless times in his career right as time expired.

Tatum simply jogged the other way with his hand in the air as TD Garden erupted.

JAYSON TATUM CALLS GAME AT THE BUZZER

(i still cannot believe mikel took that shot man oh man oh man) pic.twitter.com/5R7YHYvWCO

— Nekias (Nuh-KAI-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) October 28, 2026

But that shot was only made possible after Brown made a critical mistake on the other end. With the Nets up by two, all Brown had to do was sit tight and take the foul or let time expire. There were only seconds remaining on the clock.

But instead, he made a move to the rim with the ball and completely missed the layup. That gave Boston one final chance, which Tatum capitalized on.

Mikel Brown Jr. Just Missed A Wide-Open Layup In The Final Seconds Of The Game.

Oh My God.

This Is A Horrible Mistake. 😱 pic.twitter.com/kJMY7HwnSy

— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 28, 2026

Tatum finished with 40 points and eight assists, and made a career-high 18 free throws in the win for the Celtics. Paul George had 20 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, and Derrick White finished with 16 points. The win marked Boston’s third in a row, and it now sits at 3-1 on the new season.

His mistake is going to overshadow everything else, but Brown had a very impressive night otherwise. Brown, who the Nets took with the No. 6 overall pick out of Louisville earlier this year, had 17 points off the bench and hit an off-balanced 3-pointer to send the game into overtime.

THE ROOKIE SENDS IT TO OVERTIME!!! https://t.co/gSwrbM1A3zpic.twitter.com/ejXkMyQOug

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 28, 2026

Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Julius Randle added 24 points and nine rebounds. The loss dropped the Nets to 0-4 on the season.

While the rookie mistake is going to linger, Brown appears to be off to a very solid start to his NBA career. And leaving Tatum with time to spare in a critical moment of a game surely isn’t something he’s going to do again.