Fifteen seconds.
That’s how long, in real time, it took for Hugo Gonzalez to step onto the court at the Barclays Center and hit the biggest shot of his young NBA career.
Gonzalez’s game-tying overtime 3-pointer, which forced a second OT in Boston’s 130-126 win over the Nets on Friday night, was the result of a last-second audible by head coach Joe Mazzulla.
Down by three with 2.5 seconds remaining, the Celtics initially sent out a lineup of Payton Pritchard, Baylor Scheierman, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser and rookie center Amari Williams. But as Scheierman prepared to inbound the ball in the frontcourt, Mazzulla pivoted, calling Williams to the bench and inserting Gonzalez.
Matched up against Michael Porter Jr. at the right elbow, the rookie wing looped beneath the basket to the left corner while Brown jogged in from above the 3-point arc and settled near the free-throw line. Brown’s entry drew the attention of Porter and Nic Claxton, which busted Brooklyn’s zone defense. No one followed Gonzalez, allowing him to receive a short pass from Scheierman and loft a catch-and-shoot three.
Hauser raised his hands in celebration before the ball reached the basket. Once it did, Gonzalez’s teammates mobbed him.
HE’S ONLY 19 pic.twitter.com/WxSL4GnBRK
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 24, 2026
The Celtics, who’d blown a 10-point lead in the final three minutes of regulation, pulled ahead midway through double OT and held on for a roller-coaster victory.
After the game, Mazzulla explained the decision to swap out Williams — a two-way player who was only in the game because primary big men Neemias Queta and Luka Garza had both fouled out — for Gonzalez. The change gave the Celtics five capable outside shooting options; Gonzalez is shooting 38.2% from three this season.
“We had Amari out there just in case they matched up in a certain coverage, and it looked like they were going with something different,” Mazzulla told reporters. “So we just wanted to get Hugo out there, and Hugo made a great play. It’s a credit to him. He’s always ready, and he made a good play.”
He added: “The play wasn’t necessarily for him. (Situations where you) need threes are a crapshoot. You never know what defense they’re in. … So it was really just a read where those four guys had to make a play. Hugo made a great play, and Baylor made a great pass.”
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez called his team’s breakdown “a miscommunication” that led to “a wide-open shot.”
The clutch bucket was the latest highlight in an impressive rookie season for Boston’s youngest player, who’s looked like a first-round draft steal since October. The 19-year-old Gonzalez totaled 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting (2-of-2 from three), seven rebounds, one steal and one block in 19 minutes in the win.
