Final Play For Jaylen Brown? Celtics Detail How Game-Winner Vs. Raptors Unfolded

BOSTON — It looked like the Boston Celtics were setting up Jaylen Brown to take a potential game-winning shot at the end of overtime against the Toronto Raptors.

Brown never got that opportunity, though.

The Celtics star got pushed off balanced and tumbled to the floor before he had the chance to receive a pass from Jayson Tatum. Tatum then took matters into his own hands and sunk a 29-footer as the buzzer sounded to lift the Celtics to a thrilling 126-123 win over the Raptors at TD Garden on Saturday night.

From afar, it looked like the play was meant for Brown as he came off two screens. Tatum, who missed badly on a previous chance to end the game at the conclusion of regulation, didn’t see it that way. Tatum stated Brown was just one of many options he had with the ball in his hands.

“It’s a play we run frequently throughout the game,” Tatum said. “I get a live catch. They played spilt action on the other side. Sam Hauser gets a lot of threes off that action. So, we got different reads. The point guard, (Derrick) White, pops back for a flare, could throw it to him. If I want to attack the matchup. So, it’s never do this exact thing. It’s just Joe (Mazzulla) puts us in position and read what they give you.”

Tatum, who finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, did make an admission about the final play. Brown getting bumped out of the picture — he voiced that he thought a foul should have been called — threw off Tatum.

“I honestly thought they were going to call a foul,” Tatum said. “I really paused for a second. I thought it was going to be a late whistle just because from my view, right off the double screen pin down, felt like he got knocked off balanced and I thought it was going to be a foul. I waited for a second, they didn’t call it. And then I just wanted to wait for the very last shot. I didn’t want to give them a chance to maybe rebound it and have some time left. That’s all we talk about really is make sure we take the last shot.”

The Celtics in the end got the result they wanted from Tatum, even if things didn’t go entirely to plan.

“Just running one of the actions that kind of gets some movement and has multiple options to it,” Mazzulla said. “I thought it was executed well by the guys and it was a great shot by Jayson.”