The Celtics were about to inbound the ball late in the first overtime Friday night in Brooklyn. As the Nets set their defense, Joe Mazzulla caught something he didn’t like and, at the very last moment, signaled for rookie Hugo González to check in.
Seconds later, González was in the right corner, wide open, and drilling a three that forced double overtime.
An absolutely absurd sequence here to close OT. The Celtics are about to inbound the ball and Joe Mazzulla sees something that makes him call for Hugo Gonzalez to check in at the very last moment. Hugo checks in, and promptly drills the three to send it to 2OT. pic.twitter.com/cEhLaq9AI4
— Marc D’Amico (@Marc_DAmico) January 24, 2026
Boston ultimately escaped with a 130–126 win in 2OT over the Nets at Barclays Center, but the game will be remembered for the sequence that kept it alive: with virtually no time left in the first extra period, rookie Baylor Scheierman delivered the pass and the 19-year-old González buried the shot to make sure there was a second overtime at all.
What made it feel like a coaching epiphany wasn’t just the make, it was how fast the decision arrived. Mazzulla didn’t roll with the group that had been on the floor; he adjusted right at the inbound, inserting González as a late wrinkle. In a one-possession endgame, that move can be the difference between getting a clean catch-and-shoot look and watching a set get blown up before it starts.
The most honest way to describe it is that Mazzulla read the geometry. Brooklyn’s alignment, the switching assumptions, the help responsibilities, something in the setup suggested the corner would be available if Boston could place the right shooter in the right spot and execute quickly. González, fresh legs and a clean role, space the floor, be ready, was the answer. And when the ball found him, he didn’t hesitate.
The shot also became a pivot point in a game that was already messy and emotional. Boston blew a late lead in regulation, trailed by five late in the first overtime, and still found a way to win behind Payton Pritchard’s 32 points and Jaylen Brown’s triple-double (27 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds). The Celtics made 22 threes on the night; in a sense, the final one just happened to be the loudest.
