NEW YORK (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics outlasted the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets 130-126 in double overtime on Friday night.
Hugo González forced the second OT on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first extra period. Baylor Scheierman found the 19-year-old Spanish rookie with a no-look pass and González buried the wide-open shot from the corner.
Click to Gallery
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots over Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton, back, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Brooklyn Nets' Nolan Traore (88) drives past Boston Celtics' Luka Garza (52) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams, left, passes away the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Brooklyn Nets' Ziaire Williams, left, defends Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard (11) passes away from Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) and Michael Porter Jr. (17) during the second overtime of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The Celtics, who have won four of five, never trailed in the second OT. Anfernee Simmons put Boston ahead for good with a three-point play, and Sam Hauser's 3-pointer made it 128-124 with 1:51 left.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and Nolan Traore added a career-high 21 for the Nets, who nearly knocked off the second-place team in the Eastern Conference two days after they were beaten 120-66 by the crosstown New York Knicks.
Nic Claxton forced overtime with a putback dunk with 1.9 seconds left and finished with 19 points for the Nets, who have lost nine of 10.
Brooklyn led 117-112 with 7.9 seconds left in the first OT. Pritchard hit a 3-pointer for Boston, then fouled Traore, who made 1 of 2 free throws to set up González's tying 3.
Brown had three rebounds in the second overtime to complete his fifth career triple-double.
The Celtics led 101-91 with 3:06 left in regulation, but the Nets closed the period on a 13-3 run.
Celtics: At Chicago on Saturday night.
Nets: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots over Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton, back, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Brooklyn Nets' Nolan Traore (88) drives past Boston Celtics' Luka Garza (52) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams, left, passes away the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Brooklyn Nets' Ziaire Williams, left, defends Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard (11) passes away from Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) and Michael Porter Jr. (17) during the second overtime of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
TORONTO (AP) — Mitch Marner stepped on the ice for warmups and heard some boos during an initial lap around a rink he knows well.
The Vegas Golden Knights winger experienced more jeers on his first shift. That noise only got louder when Marner finally touched the puck, followed by an unexpected ovation after heading to the bench.
In his first game back at Scotiabank Arena since a drawn-out divorce with the Toronto Maple Leafs was finalized last summer, Marner felt a range of emotions Friday night.
And left with a 6-3 victory.
“Passionate fan base,” Marner said. “They love their team. It was interesting the whole night. When warmups hit, it really just felt odd and weird.”
The Maple Leafs honored Marner, who spent nine seasons in Toronto playing for the team he cheered for as a kid, during the first television timeout. There was a mixture of boos and cheers throughout the 40-second video tribute as many fans rose to their feet. Marner raised his right arm and tapped his chest in acknowledgment with Vegas already up 2-0.
“I was trying to just take it in and not get emotional,” he said. “Still got a lot of love for these fans.”
Asked if there was a sense of relief the homecoming was finally over, Marner replied with a smile: “Completely, definitely, honestly.”
Vegas captain Mark Stone thought the atmosphere hit the right notes all night.
“You’re expecting boos, right?” Stone said. ”(Marner) doesn’t play for the Maple Leafs anymore, but they tip their cap to what he did for this organization.”
Drafted fourth overall in 2015, Marner enjoyed plenty of regular-season success with the Maple Leafs, but was a lightning rod of criticism in hockey’s biggest media market for Toronto’s inability to break through in the playoffs.
A slow march out the door from his de facto hometown last season as unrestricted free agency loomed finally ended when he was shipped to Vegas in a sign-and-trade deal that netted Marner an eight-year, $96 million extension.
“That (booing) was fine,” he said. “I knew was it going to come … the cheering when I was going off was pretty funny. I didn’t see that one coming.”
Marner, who picked up two assists in a 6-5 overtime victory against his old team on the Las Vegas Strip last week, has 12 goals and 40 assists in 50 games this season.
“Our guys were going to try to bring their best for Mitch,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “And they did.’
Marner’s new club sits comfortably in a playoff position atop the Pacific Division standings, while Toronto is on the outside in the Eastern Conference post-season race.
“The booing I had, it was what I expected,” he said. “Tried to play through it, play with the puck, play my game. And do my thing.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Vegas Golden Knights' Mitch Marner (93) and Toronto Maple Leafs' Nicolas Roy, right, battle for the puck during first-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vegas Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner warms up before playing against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vegas Golden Knights' Mitch Marner, center, waves to the crowd as they have a tribute to him while playing against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, during first-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vegas Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner warms up before playing against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Vegas Golden Knights' Mitch Marner (93) waves to the crowd as they have a tribute to him while playing against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, during first-period NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
