The Toronto Raptors put up a heck of a fight in Saturday night's game at TD Garden, but the Boston Celtics ultimately emerged victorious 126-123 in overtime thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-point shot by Jayson Tatum.
The last play looked like it was drawn up for Jaylen Brown, but he got knocked to the floor before he could get the ball, so Tatum stepped up and took the shot. After missing a potential buzzer beater in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Tatum took advantage of the opportunity in overtime to end the game.
His buzzer beater sent the Garden crowd into a frenzy as the C's improved to 11-3 on the season.
"Man, I missed so many shots in the second half, I was bound to hit one," Tatum told NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chin after the game, as seen in the video player above. "We had a couple options (on the last play). A live catch, we got the scrum action, JB got ran over and I thought they were gonna call a foul. I had to make a play."
The Raptors were playing the second game of a back-to-back and didn't have four quality players -- Scottie Barnes, Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk and Immanuel Quickley -- due to injuries. And yet the Raptors led throughout the second half and outscored the C's 76-42 in the paint. Toronto has now lost seven straight games and sits at the bottom of the NBA with a 2-12 record, but this team doesn't quit.
"It's not going to be perfect. It's not going to be what we expect," Tatum said. "They don't have superstars or whatever you want to call it, but they play hard. They're well-coached. They play together, they play fast, and they put pressure on us."
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Tatum didn't just hit the game-winning 3-pointer. He made a strong impact in other areas, too, leading the Celtics with 11 rebounds and nine assists in 42 minutes.
"Joe always challenges me to dominate, however that looks," Tatum said. "It can look different on any given night. Shots aren't always gonna fall, but are you impacting the game, are you impacting your teammates? That's just what I try to do."
Tatum made the final shot, but this win for the Celtics was a total team effort. All five starters scored in double-digits, while the bench also chipped in 27 points.
"Basketball is a team sport. We don't win that championship last year without every single player on our team," Tatum said. "What we're trying to do this year is even harder. We need everybody on every night, whenever their number is called."
Next up for the Celtics is a much-anticipated NBA Cup group stage matchup versus the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. The Cavaliers lead the Eastern Conference standings with a 14-0 record.
