Horry Scale: Jayson Tatum hits buzzer beater, Raptors with deep 3-pointer in OT

On By Littum

Jayson Tatum redeems himself with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift the Celtics past the Raptors in overtime.

A reminder on The Horry Scale: It breaks down a game-winning buzzer beater (GWBB) into the categories of difficulty, game situation (was the team tied or trailing at the time?), importance (playoff game or garden-variety night in November?) and party. Then we give it an overall grade on a scale of 1-5 Robert Horrys, named after the patron saint of last-second answered prayers.

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Given a second chance, Jayson Tatum delivered in the nick of time.

With the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors tied at the end of regulation, Tatum’s defender dropped to the floor, leaving him wide open for a 15-footer from the top of the key. He hit nothing but the backboard.

Tatum got another chance late in overtime on a broken play and knocked down a 30-footer at the buzzer to give Boston a dramatic 126-123 overtime win.

GAME SITUATION: With the game tied 123-123, the Celtics called a timeout with 20 seconds left after Neemias Queta blocked RJ Barrett’s layup attempt. Out of the timeout, Tatum bled the clock and looked for Jaylen Brown, who was pushed to the floor by Davion Mitchell. Making no mistake, Tatum was stranded beyond the 3-point line with four seconds left. He had no choice but to take the long, contested jumper.

DIFFICULTY: On an island with a few seconds on the clock, Tatum had to improvise with Ochai Agbaji in his face. The Celtics star dribbled twice to create space and stepped back to launch the game-winner with 0.4 on the clock. Although Tatum made it look easy, it wasn’t.

PARTY: The crowd erupted as the Celtics’ PA announced, “JT FOR THREE!” Meanwhile, Tatum’s momentum carried him off Boston’s bench, but it didn’t take long for his teammates to track him down. Al Horford was the first to arrive with a celebratory chest bulge and the party was on at TD Garden.

DEGREE: After missing the potential game-winner at the end of regulation, Tatum gets points to redeem himself in OT. JT is no stranger to making big shots, but JT met the moment again, saving the Celtics from what would have been a bad loss and adding to his legacy as one of the NBA’s best young stars. 3.5 Terrible.