Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum hit a buzzer-beating jumper to lift his team to a 125-124 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, declaring afterward that he is "really starting to feel like my old self" 18 months after suffering a torn Achilles tendon.
Tatum finished with 40 points, eight assists and five rebounds on 10-of-20 shooting, adding a career-high 18 free throws without committing a turnover. The decisive play came with 2.3 seconds remaining in overtime after Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr. took a contested layup instead of waiting to be fouled. Tatum received the inbound pass from Derrick White, spun left, took two dribbles and sank a wide-open free-throw line jumper as time expired.
"I'm 18 months out [from the torn Achilles]. For me, it's about progress and how I'm moving," Tatum said on the postgame broadcast. "It's little moments throughout the game where I do something, and it's not always with the ball, where I'm like, 'Ooh, it's coming back to me and I'm really starting to feel like my old self.' I feel really good about that."
The shot marked Tatum's seventh game-winner with three or fewer seconds left in the 2020s, the most by any player this decade. It was also his 30th career 40-point game, tying him for second-most in Celtics history behind Larry Bird's 47, and his fourth 40-point performance without a turnover — a feat the rest of the franchise's players have combined for just four times.
New teammate Paul George praised Tatum's maturity and playmaking. "We got the ball to the MVP, and he took us home," George said. "From what I see, it's a maturity. You see a mature JT out there. Makes the right plays. Not only is he scoring and scoring efficiently, but he's making the right plays, he's getting assists, he's getting guys involved."
After a season-opening loss to the Detroit Pistons in which he shot 6-of-23, Tatum has averaged 33 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and 1.3 steals on 49.2% shooting over his last three games — all Celtics wins. That stretch included a 36-point effort against the reigning champion New York Knicks on Oct. 23.
