Jayson Tatum leads the way as the Celtics work overtime to beat the Nets

“Yes,” he said. “I kind of felt like we should.”

Pritchard referenced Horford’s arrow from the right corner with two minutes left in overtime that gave Boston a 3-point lead, their largest of the game to that point. Horford was referring to everything else that came before.

The Celtics were just 14 of 53 from the 3-point line, a level of inaccuracy that is generally impossible to overcome, especially on nights like Friday when Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet were sidelined.

But the unusual path to this victory was in part what made it satisfying afterwards.

“We have an expectation to win no matter who’s on the floor,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “(Expletive) doesn’t go your way, you just have to figure it out. I like that mentality in them. We had about 18 of those (wins) last year and this was one tonight where we just have to find out of it from everyone, and I think that’s important.”

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points to lead the Celtics, but his finest moments in clutch situations had little to do with scoring. With two minutes left in regulation and Boston trailing, 91-89, he cut into the lane before firing a perfect pass to Sam Hauser in the left corner.

Hauser was just 1-for-9 from the 3-point line up to that point, and when he showed some frustration with his struggles during a timeout, Horford tried to squash it, stressing that the team needed Hauser to be confident and comfortable . Hauser hit this big shot.

Then in overtime, Tatum drew three defenders and hit a left-handed pass to Horford in the right corner. Horford hit the 3-pointer that Pritchard would later knock around the locker room.

Then, with the Nets trailing by 3 with 30 seconds left, Tatum switched to Cam Thomas and choked him, eventually forcing an air ball that led to a shot-clock violation.

“(Tatum) has the ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor, well-rounded basketball, so I don’t care if he gets 30 a night if he doesn’t do all the other things that are most important to win,” Mazzulla said. “And when he does, we’re a different team.”

As the Celtics found a way to overcome their absences and poor shooting, the narrative was generally positive afterward. They have emphasized that few wins are easy, so they will take every one they can get.

But it’s also true that a team that went 37-4 at home last season came perilously close to dropping its second straight at the Garden, this one to a team that wasn’t expected to make the playoffs.

Horford acknowledged that despite this victory, a few minor warning signs have emerged.

“I just think we’ve got to make sure we continue to come out more focused,” he said. “I feel like we’ve eased into the last few games, and you can’t do that. You just can’t do that.”

This time, the apparent lack of focus resulted in a 16-2 deficit that the Celtics spent nearly all of regulation trying to wipe away.

The Nets pushed back the Celtics’ run all night and led, 88-82, with six minutes left in the fourth. But they were then held scoreless for more than three minutes, and the Celtics took their first lead, 89-88, on a Jrue Holiday layup with 4:25 left.

With 37 seconds left and the score tied at 92, Thomas (31 points) missed a layup and Tatum got the rebound. After a timeout, the Celtics set up a two-on-one chance perfectly, with Tatum streaking down the court for a dunk.

The Celtics then allowed sharpshooter Cameron Johnson to line up a wide-open 3-pointer. They were lucky he missed it, but he collected the rebound and was fouled. His free throw with 7.6 seconds left tied the score at 94. After a timeout, Tatum tried to create space at the right arc, but his 3-pointer was out.

Each team scored on the first four possessions of overtime, but a Tatum fadeaway with 1:19 left to give the Celtics a 105-102 lead was followed by a Dorian Finney-Smith missed 3-pointer and that was the stop , Boston needed.

“I think being able to come down and execute, especially in crunch time, is something we’re working on,” Holiday said. “It’s not going to happen for us every game, but doing the best we can is, I think, just effort and concentration.”

Adam Himmelsbach can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.