Rookies save Celtics in Brooklyn: Five reasons why Boston beat the Nets in double-overtime

The Celtics had the game won, then lost, then won again in a bit of an ugly night in Brooklyn. But Payton Pritchard helped carry the offense while Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams were surprise heroes for the Celtics.

Jan 23, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Boston Celtics guard Hugo Gonzalez (28) celebrates his three point shot against Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney (21) with Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the first overtime at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

1. Joe Mazzulla saw something in the nick of time
2. Amari Williams stepped in to make big plays
3. Payton Pritchard carried the scoring load
4. Jaylen Brown set people up and had a triple-double
5. Sam Hauser continued his stretch of good basketball 

This was not a crisp game for the Celtics, who have essentially been on the road for two weeks now. They made a lot of defensive mistakes, they missed offensive reads, and they gave up a ton of transition chances. Rebounding, their biggest weakness, nearly cost them the game, but they found a way to win 130-126 in double overtime, thanks to some unlikely heroes. 

The teams played even in the first, trading runs to open the game and settling at 28-all after 12 minutes. The Celtics missed a ton at the rim in the second quarter and shot 31% overall to fall behind by six at halftime. Payton Pritchard got going to help cut that in half heading into the fourth. The Celtics went on a 13-3 run to go up double digits with three minutes to go. But Brooklyn flipped it and went on a 13-3 run after that to force overtime. It looked like the Nets were going to clinch it, but a late missed free throw opened the door for Hugo Gonzalez to tie the game, and then Amari Williams came in to make big plays to seal the win. 

Here are five reasons why the Celtics won the game: 

Joe Mazzulla saw something in the nick of time

The Nets finally missed a free throw in the overtime, which is probably killing Nolan Traore who had an otherwise great night. But instead of icing the game, the Celtics got the rebound, called timeout, and set up a play. 

Then, at the very last second, Joe Mazzulla subbed Williams out and put Gonzalez in because the Nets were in a different coverage than he anticipated. The result was a wide-open shot for Gonzalez in the left corner to tie the game. 

Joe Mazzulla is a master manipulator of basketball man. He sees the Nets go zone so he makes a last second sub to put Hugo Gonzalez in the game. Hugo ends up knocking down a HUGE three to tie it up. Wow. pic.twitter.com/fkq27cdVIJ

— NikNBA🏀 (@NIKNBAYT) January 24, 2026

Jaylen Brown’s cut to the left elbow froze Noah Clowney long enough to make that play happen. That was a good read from Baylor Scheierman and a great cut by Gonzalez. That's a tough play to make, but I think the experience of playing in hostile European environments makes situations like this easier for Gonzalez. 

Amari Williams stepped in to make big plays

Both Luka Garza, who was also very good in this game, and Neemias Queta, who played but was under the weather, fouled out. The Celtics went small for hot second, but then turned to Williams late in overtime because he was perfect for Hail Mary play that was incredibly important. 

This actually might be the play of the game because it came without using a timeout. If they don't make this play, they don't have the timeout to use that sets the next play and gives Joe the chance to sub Hugo in. pic.twitter.com/t2Mi2SMtnx

— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@John_Karalis) January 24, 2026

If Williams doesn’t make that catch and pass, and if Pritchard doesn’t hit that shot, the game is over. But getting that bucket without using the timeout gave Mazzulla the one he used to set up the final play of overtime and make the late Gonzalez substitution. 

But then, in the second overtime, Williams made a great read to relocate on a Pritchard drive to get an and-one to put Boston up three. And finally, he had a monster blocked shot with 40 seconds left to keep Boston’s lead at four, which is where it ended. 

Big minutes from Amari 💪 pic.twitter.com/l5nGiD5mNM

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 24, 2026

“I think we use every inch of our bench tonight,” Brown said after the game. “It was a long game. We probably won, lost, won. and lost again, and then figured a way how to pull it out in the end. So it's a great team win. I'm happy that we came out on top.”

That included some Ron Harper, Jr. minutes earlier in the game. Mazzulla pushed every button he could.

Payton Pritchard carried the scoring load

He finished with 32 points, four rebounds, and three assists. He shot 13-24 from the field, and 6-11 from deep. He played 40 minutes in this game, and overcame some early struggles where he missed a bunch of layups. He easily could have had 40, but then again, if he’d hit the layups, they probably wouldn’t have gone into overtime, where he scored eight points. 

Either way, he did a great job,

Jaylen Brown set people up and had a triple-double

It really wasn’t Brown’s best night ever, but he finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists, good for his firth career triple-double.

“They blitzed a lot off screen-and-roll,” Brown explained. “They doubled anytime I had a favorable matchup.”

Brown turned those doubles into assists and secondary assists and ended up a +11 despite a horrific shooting night where he went 5-17 on two-pointers and 5-10 from the line. Somehow, he went 4-10 from three. With all the double teams, it was impressive that Brown only had two turnovers. 

Sam Hauser continued his stretch of good basketball 

He had a great all-around game. He shot 5-10 from three, and he added a couple of fine two-point baskets as well. He defended well, too, and did other things like dish three assists, grab four rebounds, and get one steal. 

He was a very big part of the Celtics keeping the game close early on when they really weren’t playing well. One key part of the Celtics winning this game was figuring out how to keep the game close until they could go on a run. 

According to NBCS Boston's Dick Lipe, Hauser is the first player in Celtics history to make 24 three-pointers over any stretch of four games.

OTHER NOTES

• This was Boston's first double-overtime win since December 19, 2007.
• The Nets had 16 offensive rebounds and 24 second chance points. That included their final eight points of regulation to tie the game. 
• Brooklyn was 29-34 from the line while Boston was 10-16. The Celtics combatted the 19 point difference by out-scoring the Nets by 27 at the three-point line. 
• Anfernee Simons shot poorly (4-16, 1-7 3-pt), but was a +10. He had two steals and two assists. 
• Jaylen Brown said he didn’t have his full burst in this game because of hamstring tightness. 
• If you didn’t play that Gonzalez 3, go ahead and listen to the crowd. This was in Brooklyn. 

Next up: The Celtics go to Chicago tomorrow night to wrap up the back-to-back.