BOSTON — Caris LeVert’s epic fourth-quarter explosion carried the Brooklyn Nets all the way back from a 21-point deficit and into overtime, where he scored all 11 of Brooklyn's overtime points to lift the Nets to a 129-120 win over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.
LeVert scored 26 points in the fourth quarter, including three free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, on the way to a career-high 51 points, shooting 17-of-26 and 5-of-10 from 3-point range. He had 18 points in the final 4:05 of regulation.
The Nets scored 51 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 118 going into overtime.
LeVert opened the overtime with a drive and then a foul-line jumper for a 122-118 lead. Fouled on the play, he missed the free throw, but grabbed the rebound, pulled the ball out, and then scored for a six-point lead. His short jumper made it 126-118, Nets, with 2:27 to go.
With the Nets trailing by 13 in the fourth quarter, LeVert drained three consecutive 3-pointers to make it a 104-100 game with 2:41 remaining. After a rebound dunk by Boston’s Robert Williams, Chris Chiozza drained a 3-pointer to make it 106-103.
Another LeVert 3-pointer with 1:30 to go had Brooklyn within 110-108, but Williams converted a three-point play after a dunk and a foul to leave the Nets down five with 1:16 to go. Another Williams dunk was followed by two DeAndre Jordan free throws, but a Jaylen Brown 3-pointer had Boston back up 116-110. Chiozza’s jumper with 45 seconds left made it a four-point game, and LeVert made 1-of-2 free throws to make it 116-113 with 19.9 seconds to go.
After Boston's Daniel Theis made two free throws for the Celtics, Jordan's dunk made it 118-115 with 6.7 seconds left. Brooklyn forced a jump ball after the Boston inbound, won the tip and called timeout with 1.4 seconds left. The ball went to LeVert, who drew a foul and drained his free throws to force overtime.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had 16 points for Brooklyn and Spencer Dinwiddie had 14, while Joe Harris added 10.
Jordan had 15 rebounds and Jarrett Allen grabbed 10.
The Nets trailed 56-43 at halftime after committing 13 first-half turnovers and allowing 15 second-chance points as the Celtics grabbed 10 offensive rebounds.
Both teams started off with some hot shooting. Boston made eight of its first 10, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while Brooklyn opened up 6-of-9 and 2-of-5 to trail 19-14 at that point. The Celtics stretched their lead to 28-19 before an 8-2 Nets run capped by a pair of LeVert drives. Boston took a 33-28 lead into the second quarter.
But the Nets managed just 15 second-quarter points. After their sharp shooting start they were just 10-of-33 and 2-of-13 from 3-point range for the rest of the half. With LeVert scoring 14 first-half points and Dinwiddie 10, the backcourt duo combined for more than half of Brooklyn’s first half output as Boston built a 13-point halftime lead.
An 11-0 run pushed the Boston lead to 71-50 five minutes into the half before a Harris 3-pointer ended the slide. The Celtics were still up 79-59 before back-to-back 3-pointers from Garrett Temple and Chris Chiozza cut into the lead, but Boston still took an 84-67 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Trailing 91-75, the Nets cut into the Boston lead with an 11-2 run. After LeVert made 1-of-2 free throws and Rodions Kurucs converted a three-point play, Brown made two free throws for Boston. But LeVert drove to the rim, Luwawu-Cabarrot made a 3-pointer, and Kurucs scored off a drive to make it a 93-86 game midway through the quarter.
A Luwawu-Cabarrot 3-pointer had the Nets within 99-91 with five minutes to go, but the Celtics answered with a Walker 3-pointer and Brown’s jumper in the lane.