BSJ Game Report: Celtics 108, Nets 104 (OT) - Tatum drops 33 as C's claw their way to a win

Everything you need to know about the Celtics overtime win over the Nets, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

Boston started REAL slow, falling behind 16-2 before a Jayson Tatum outburst helped cut the lead to four after the first. The Nets built another lead behind Cam Thomas, but Payton Pritchard was able to keep it close with an 11-point quarter. They went back and forth in an even third and the defense stepped up in the fourth to make up for some poor shooting to force it to overtime. The defense ramped up in the OT to escape with the win.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Grinding it out: I’ll let C’s radio play-by-play man Sean Grande guest spot on this one. Sean?

I’ll get more into this separately, but the positive spin on this is that they played poorly, especially early on, they shot like had been poked in the eye, and they faced an opponent who was playing at an All-NBA level, and they still found a way to win. 

- Reserves help fuel the turnaround: It wasn’t just that Boston’s bench outscored Brooklyn’s, it’s that the bench woke the Celtics up in the first quarter. 

“I think that the game changed for us when Payton and (Neemias Queta) and Sam (Hauser) and those guys came in,” Al Horford said. “They just brought us good energy, the game started to shift our way, and that's how we were able to, I feel like, get back in the game.”

- Defense clamps down: They allowed just 16 points in the fourth quarter, allowing them to come back and tie the game even while they were only scoring 18 of their own. They got big stops when they needed them.

TURNING POINT

I’ll go with Horford’s 3-pointer with 6:05 to go in the fourth. The Nets were up 88-82 and that 3 triggered a 7-0 run and a 12-6 finish to regulation. It was also one of two 3-pointers Al hit after starting the game 1-6. Those were some massive shots to hit after being cold all night. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Sticking with it: Some nights things aren’t quite going your way, whether it’s your own fault or not (it was both in this one). The question is whether you can recover and get the job done. I don’t care if you’re hungover on a Friday morning or taking the Nets too lightly, there's something to be said about rallying and finishing your work day on a positive note. 

- Jayson Tatum: He had to do a lot in this game, finishing with 33 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block. His second half defense was part of the winning formula. 

“He has the ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor, well-rounded basketball, so I don't really care if he gets 30 a night if he doesn't do all the other stuff that are most important to winning.” Joe Mazzulla said. “When he does that, we're a different team, and that goes for him, that goes for Jaylen, that goes for all our guys. So he made a decision in the middle of the game that he was going to impact both ends, and when he does that, we're a different team, so he did a great job of that.”

He was not perfect. He’s lucky a couple of late turnovers weren’t more impactful and his foul at the end of the fourth let the game get into overtime. Pobody’s nerfect, I guess. 

- Jrue Holiday: Finished with 17 points and five assists, but how about him hitting Tatum with what should have been the game-winning dunk?

“I like basketball. Whatever it takes for me to be on the floor,” he said. “I just feel like affecting the game, you can do it in multiple ways and I get joy in affecting the game in multiple ways. So it’s not just scoring or playing defense, it could be rebounding or getting an assist to my teammate, whatever the case may be.”

- Payton Pritchard: It wasn’t just 3-point shooting. He had a big fadeaway in the paint in overtime and a couple of tough layups earlier in the game. He is a shifty player who has a lot of those tricks you tend to find in smaller guards.

“He’s a little unorthodox,” Tatum said. “He takes an extra dribble where normally guys would lay it up and he takes one more dribble where he gives the defender, you can see like he takes a breath where he relaxes and Payton knows that, and he gets it up quick. He has a strong base. He’s a short guy I guess but Payton is pretty strong in his base, in his core, and he uses his body and angles really well when he’s attacking the basket.”

- Sam Hauser: Throw out the 2-10 shooting. He got good looks that just didn’t fall. Give him those same 10 looks in 82 games and he’d lead the league in 3-point shooting by a healthy margin. He was a team-best +15, he had three assists and three steals, and he had four rebounds. Two of those were huge in the fourth quarter. One offensive rebound led to a Holiday layup and another was a tip back to a teammate to get a late stop. Both came after a tough missed corner 3 that left him visibly frustrated with himself, so it was nice to see him keep doing the other things.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Xavier Tillman: Really rough start to this game for him. He threw the whole offense off by not taking open corner 3s. And then after he was yelled at for it, he missed two of them badly. He came out after five minutes and never went back in. 

He has to let it fly when he gets the shots, partly because he’s being trusted to do that, and partly because everyone expects him to and is thrown off when he doesn’t. 

“It's hard at times if guys are in and out of lineups and sub-patterns are different, to get into your rhythm,” Mazzulla said. “But at the end of the day, they just have to feel empowered that when they're open, they have to shoot it. They work at it every day. I watch them do it. I trust them, and obviously you want to pass and move the ball, but when you pass up a first good look, as good as defenses are in the NBA it's harder to generate those late in the clock, and so they just have to keep being understanding and empowered that I want them to shoot when they're open.”

- Jordan Walsh: He did the same thing and Mazzulla let him know about it. Also, Walsh isn’t strong enough for regular NBA minutes right now. He needs to be locked in the weight room with some creatine and gallons of protein shakes. He’s getting tossed around too much. 

- The start: They can’t get away with starts like this very often. They were down 16-2 at one point. It’s only November. They can’t be bored yet. 

- The officials: They were wildly inconsistent on both ends. Both fan bases have legitimate beefs with them, and not in a “if both teams are complaining they did a good job” kind of way.

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- More Tatum corner 3-pointers, please!

He came into this game with three made corner 3-pointers on the season. All five of his makes in this game were from the corners … a perfect 5-5. 

I know he’s a primarily above-the-break 3 kind of guy because of the pull ups and where he is in the offense, but I would love to see more catch-and-shoot opportunities for him. Not only would that mean some more easy looks from the shorter distance, but it also means he’s off the ball for a while. 

The Celtics have very capable playmakers. There is nothing wrong with Derrick White running a pick-and-roll and finding Tatum in the corner. White is a good enough 3-pointer shooter, and he’s great on floaters. He’s going to get attention. I want to see him run that more with Tatum spotting up. 

- Neemias Queta needs to be quicker after catches. 

One skill I’d like to see him develop is keeping the ball high off of catches and just laying it softly off the glass for layups. He always seems like he needs to gather after catching the ball, and that just openes up chances to turn the ball over or get fouled without putting up the shot. 

Luke Kornet is pretty good at doing that. I want to see more of it from Queta. It’s an easy skill to pick up and it will make him that much more effective. 

Next up: The Celtics travel to Milwaukee for a game on Sunday afternoon at 3:30