Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum just keeps on finding ways to etch his name into the franchise’s history books early in his young career.
Tatum’s buzzer-beating lay-up not only lifted the Celtics to a 115-114 Game 1 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at TD Garden, but it was also a first of sorts for the storied franchise.
It was the first time in Celtics history that a player from the organization hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer in a home playoff game.
Tatum’s bucket as time expired was Boston’s first game-winning buzzer-beater in the playoffs since Paul Pierce drilled a jumper to beat the Miami Heat on the road during the first round of the playoffs in 2010.
Tatum’s clutch basket capped a frantic sequence in which the Celtics got a much-needed defensive stop before Boston — with a timeout in its pocket — pushed the ball up the floor in the final seconds. Marcus Smart then made a heads-up play to find a cutting Tatum, who spun around Nets guard Kyrie Irving and converted the lay-up for the game-winning score.
Not even video replay could take away the history Tatum made. Officials went to the replay monitor following the made basket and didn’t add any time back on the clock, a rarity with fractions of seconds seemingly always added during these end-of-game sequences.
Tatum finished with a team-high 31 points on 9-for-18 shooting while also recording eight assists and four rebounds. Tatum and the Celtics take on the Nets in Game 2 at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday back at TD Garden.
