Post by : Meena Ariff

Payton Pritchard put on a standout show Friday night as the Boston Celtics edged the Brooklyn Nets 130-126 in a thrilling double-overtime battle in New York.

Pritchard was the driving force for Boston throughout the game, finishing with 32 points and making key plays when the pressure was at its highest. His biggest moment came late in the second overtime, when he calmly set up rookie Amari Williams for the go-ahead basket with 3:30 remaining. That shot proved to be the turning point in a game that refused to settle until the final minutes.

For most of the night, the Celtics appeared to have control. Boston built a strong rhythm on offense and carried a 10-point lead into the final stretch of regulation. With just over three minutes left, they looked ready to close it out. But the Nets had other plans.

Brooklyn stormed back in the final 3:06 of regulation, chipping away at the deficit and forcing mistakes from the Celtics at critical moments. The late surge helped the Nets wipe out Boston’s lead completely and push the contest into overtime, setting the stage for an unpredictable finish.

The drama only grew in the first overtime. Boston struggled to separate itself and faced a difficult situation in the closing seconds. The Celtics trailed by five points with only 7.9 seconds left, and it looked like the Nets were on the verge of sealing the win.

Instead, Boston found a way to survive.

Rookie Hugo Gonzalez delivered one of the biggest shots of the night, knocking down a clutch corner three-pointer with just four-tenths of a second remaining on the clock. The shot kept the Celtics alive and sent the game into a second overtime, stunning the home crowd and swinging momentum back toward Boston.

In the second overtime, both teams fought through fatigue, but the Celtics looked sharper in the key moments. Pritchard continued to control the tempo, making smart decisions and keeping the offense steady. His pass to Amari Williams for the go-ahead basket gave Boston a lead they refused to give back.

Brooklyn kept pushing and looked for one more comeback, but Boston stayed composed, answered pressure with timely execution, and defended well enough down the stretch to hold off the Nets’ last run.

By the final buzzer, the Celtics had escaped with a hard-earned road win, powered by Pritchard’s scoring and late-game leadership, along with big contributions from two rookies who stepped up in the biggest moments.

The victory highlighted Boston’s resilience, as they survived a blown lead in regulation, a near collapse in overtime, and still found a way to finish stronger in double overtime to secure a memorable 130-126 win.

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