Jayson Tatum is trending for two very different reasons in the same 24 hours. On Monday, Oct. 26, he left the Boston Celtics’ blowout of the Chicago Bulls with 6:53 still on the clock. On Tuesday night he scored 40 points and hit an overtime buzzer-beater to beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-124, The Boston Globe and Yahoo Sports reported.
Both nights only make sense against the past 17 months. Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the 2025 playoffs, missed most of the 2025-26 season, and opened 2026-27 without longtime teammate Jaylen Brown. The dates below come from published reports.
Tatum’s road back, date by date
- May 2025: Tatum was hurt in Game 4 of Boston’s Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the New York Knicks and had surgery on May 13 to repair a ruptured right Achilles, according to The Associated Press via NBA.com.
- March 6, 2026: He returned against the Dallas Mavericks after 298 days and finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a 120-100 win, the AP reported. ESPN also reported that he started in his return.
- July 2026: Boston traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and draft picks, according to the AP and USA Today. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the 76ers announced the trade on July 6.
- Oct. 24-25, 2026: Tatum and Brown traded public comments about whether there is “beef” between them, as CBS Sports recounted.
- Oct. 26, 2026: In a 134-99 win over Chicago, Tatum had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists before leaving with 6:53 left, Heavy, via Yahoo Sports, and Deadspin reported.
- Oct. 27, 2026: He played the second night of the back-to-back and hit the winning shot against Brooklyn.
Why the early exit against Chicago drew attention
An early exit is not unusual in a lopsided game. Boston led 105-75 after three quarters, according to Heavy. The attention came from Tatum’s history. Both Heavy and Deadspin noted that he missed most of last season with the Achilles injury, and that the Bulls and Nets games were on back-to-back nights.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla did not say before Tuesday’s game whether Tatum would play. “We trust the sports science team that we have,” Mazzulla said, per Field Level Media as quoted by Heavy. He added that the team would “do what gives us the best chance to win” while keeping players healthy. We found no report that the Celtics announced an injury from the Bulls game. Tatum played Tuesday, overtime included.
How the Nets game ended
The finish swung back and forth several times. According to the Globe, Boston led by four with about four seconds left in regulation. Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr. then hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 0.2 seconds left to force overtime. Brown was the No. 6 overall pick out of Louisville, according to Yahoo Sports.
In overtime, Brooklyn led 124-119 with about two minutes left, the Globe reported. With the Nets up 124-123 in the final seconds, Brown drove and missed a layup instead of running out the clock or drawing a foul. That gave Boston the ball with 2.3 seconds left, the Globe and Yahoo Sports both reported. After a timeout, Tatum took the inbounds pass, pulled up from the left elbow and made a jumper as time expired. The Globe estimated it at 17 feet.
Tatum finished with 40 points and eight assists and made a career-high 18 free throws, according to Yahoo Sports. George added 20 points for Boston. Michael Porter Jr. led Brooklyn with 27 points, both outlets reported. Yahoo Sports said the win was Boston’s third straight, moving the Celtics to 3-1, while the Nets fell to 0-4.
The Jaylen Brown storyline around him
Part of the search interest comes from the Brown subplot, not Tatum’s health. In comments shared by 98.5 The Sports Hub and reported by CBS Sports, Tatum said, “This ain’t no f—in’ Shaq and Kobe, there’s no beef.” CBS Sports also reported that Brown answered a day later: “It’s no beef, but it might be a little lamb chop and some gravy,” and added that Tatum “should stay ready at all times.”
The two former teammates have not yet played against each other this season. According to CBS Sports, the first Celtics-76ers meeting is set for Nov. 10 in Philadelphia.
Our read: what the numbers say so far
This is our own comparison of the box-score lines reported above. It isn’t a medical assessment. A handful of games can’t show whether Tatum is fully back to his pre-injury level, but the numbers give some context.
| Game | Result | Tatum’s reported line | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 6, 2026 vs. Dallas (return) | W 120-100 | 15 pts, 12 reb, 7 ast | AP via NBA.com |
| Oct. 26, 2026 vs. Chicago | W 134-99 | 23 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast; left with 6:53 to play | Heavy via Yahoo; Deadspin |
| Oct. 27, 2026 vs. Brooklyn (OT) | W 125-124 | 40 pts, 8 ast, 18 FTs made | Boston Globe; Yahoo Sports |
A few points stand out to us. First, Boston played Tatum on both nights of a back-to-back, including overtime, one night after he left early. That does not prove he is fully recovered. It does show the team was willing to use him in a high-leverage finish. Second, 18 made free throws means he kept drawing contact and getting to the line, not just settling for jumpers. Third, the AP reported in March that the typical return window after Achilles surgery is nine to 12 months. Tatum’s 298-day absence fell inside that range. This season is the first full look at how Boston manages his workload after the injury.
For readers following along, the most reliable signals will be the Celtics’ official injury reports before each game and whether Tatum keeps playing both ends of back-to-backs. Treat social media claims about a new injury with caution unless the team or a major outlet confirms them.
Tatum’s comeback is one of several stories we are tracking this week. Follow more trending news on our hub, where we also collect daily trends news explainers. For NBA and World Series coverage, visit our sports section.
Updated October 28, 2026