The Brooklyn Nets were seconds away from picking up their best win of the season on Friday. Days after the second-worst loss in franchise history, Jordi Fernandez's squad overcame several late deficits to take a three-point lead over the Boston Celtics with 2.5 seconds left in overtime. However, a head-scratching blunder cost the Nets during a 130-126 double-overtime loss at Barclays Center.
Leading 118-115, a defensive miscue left Hugo Gonzalez wide-open for a game-tying corner three with 0.4 seconds remaining. The Celtics outscored the Nets 12-8 in the second overtime to secure the win.
Fernandez called Brooklyn's defensive gaffe “a miscommunication.” However, Michael Porter Jr., who tried to pass off the cutting Gonzalez to Noah Clowney in the corner, went into further detail about what led to the costly breakdown.
“During the timeout, we had decided to zone up the three-point line and all have a certain zone on the arc. But then, they came out, and their play wasn't what we thought it was gonna be,” Porter said. “We thought they were all gonna start inside the three-point line, but they all started high. So at the last minute, some of us were confused if we were now manning up or zoning up still… Obviously, it was poorly executed. I tried to pass the guy through to Noah on that side, and we just weren’t all on the same page.
“Coach Jordi was trying to communicate on the sideline, but it was just such crunch time, we didn’t know… But yeah, it’s on us, the players, to communicate, and obviously the No. 1 thing is don’t give up a wide open corner uncontested 3… We were just discombobulated. We got to learn from it, hopefully do better in the next situation.”
Hugo González. CLUTCH.
Hits the triple to send the game to DOUBLE OVERTIME 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lszFiZIoiC
— NBA (@NBA) January 24, 2026
MPJ on the Hugo Gonzalez game-tying three:
-Nets drew up a zone around the 3-point line during the timeout
-Celtics came out in a different set than they expected
-Some Nets adjusted to man and some stayed in zone
A game-losing miscommunication. pic.twitter.com/7v05m5lxGi
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 24, 2026
Gonzalez's three wasn't Brooklyn's only costly mistake in overtime.
Nets drop heartbreaker vs. Celtics at Barclays Center after late rally
Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin (8) watches from the bench during double overtime against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Leading by five with eight seconds remaining, the Celtics threw a full-court pass to center Amari Williams. The rookie is a subpar free-throw shooter and only entered the game during overtime after Neemias Queta and Luka Garza fouled out. Rather than fouling Williams, the Nets allowed him to throw a touch pass to Payton Pritchard for a three-pointer.
Pritchard finished with a game-high 32 points on 13-of-24 shooting from the field and 6-of-11 from three.
“We've executed late-game well in many games, especially defensively. Today, it was two situations where we could've been better,” Fernandez said. “We’re up five, they throw a cross-court pass, and you have a chance to foul the center right there. And then, he would probably make one free-throw, and the game is over. We didn’t do it, and they made the three. Then the other one is we’re around the 3-point line, there’s a miscommunication, and they get a wide-open shot. So those are the things that you go through these experiences together. And as well as we've done it in prior games… Today, we made a couple mistakes, and those mistakes in this league against a very good team make you pay.”
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The pair of defensive miscues will overshadow a spirited Brooklyn effort. Trailing by 10 with three minutes left in regulation, the Nets battled back to force overtime. Down four with two minutes left in the extra period, they rallied again to take the lead.
Led by Nic Claxton's perimeter defense, Fernandez's squad held Jaylen Brown to 9-of-27 shooting.
“We played a really good game,” Claxton said. “I feel like we deserved to win. We just didn’t execute enough down the stretch, so we got to learn from it. But this is a tough loss, though. This one really hurt.”
Porter led the charge for Brooklyn, posting 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 9-of-19 shooting. Claxton added 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks on 8-of-13 shooting.
Nolan Traore turned in his best performance of the season, scoring several clutch buckets during the Nets' late rally. The rookie point guard finished with 21 points, two assists, and just two turnovers on 7-of-13 shooting while playing a career-high 36 minutes. He closed the game over fellow rookie Egor Demin.
While a late turnover and a missed free-throw before the Gonzalez three were costly, Traore's contributions down the stretch against one of the NBA's top teams were encouraging.
“It can show him that he belongs here,” Claxton said of Traore's clutch minutes. “I remember when I first starting getting those clutch minutes, it's a good feeling, being able to impact the game. He did a lot of good things for us, getting downhill, getting into the paint, spraying, and making good plays. Obviously, there. There are a lot of things that he can get better at and learn from, but going forward, we're gonna need that level of play from him.”
While Friday's loss left the Brooklyn locker room somber, it comes with a silver lining.
The Nets remain in fifth place in the draft lottery standings and have the same number of wins (12) as the Sacramento Kings in fourth. They have only one more victory than the New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers, who both won on Friday and sit in second and third, respectively.