The Brooklyn Nets couldn’t get their first win of the season, and their rookie point guard had a roller coaster finish. 

On Tuesday night, the Nets played a thriller in Boston, but ultimately fell to the Celtics 125-124 in overtime. The loss marked the fourth straight to begin Brooklyn’s season, and this one was the most heartbreaking yet. 

After Mikel Brown Jr. nailed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to cap off a crazy sequence at the end of regulation, his hero status didn’t last much longer. With the Nets leading by one in the final moments of overtime, Brown got the inbounds pass and dribbled straight toward the bucket and went up for a layup over Paul George. 

Missing at the rim, Brown’s blunder wouldn’t go unpunished, as Celtics star Jayson Tatum nailed a mid-range jumper as time expired to give Boston a wild win at TD Garden. Although Brown’s mistake was a key piece in Brooklyn’s collapse in overtime, he quickly took responsibility for his team’s loss after the game. 

“I did see the open lane, and I thought I had a layup, but the ball was kind of already slipping out of my hands, and PG was already coming towards my right side,” Brown said after the game. “So I felt like if I didn't go up with it, I kind of was gonna fall out of bounds. So that was my last resort, in all honesty, but I can't make an excuse. There's a lot of plays down the stretch that I messed up on, that I take full accountability of, and I'm gonna be better.”

Brown’s attempt at the end was unfortunately what many will remember from this game, but he was massive in getting Brooklyn in that position. With Egor Demin exiting with an injury in the first half and Brown entering the fourth with only one point, the rookie went to another level. 

In the fourth quarter and overtime, Brown nailed four threes and scored 16 points to give the Nets a shot at beating their division rivals on the road. While he may have dashed his own efforts on the Nets’ final offensive possession, Brown sent a message to fans on social media. 

“That one is on me Brooklyn!”, Brown tweeted in all caps. “Imma shake back I promise yall dat.”

Despite the loss, Brown’s confidence during the game and his willingness to hold himself accountable immediately after should give the Nets plenty of optimism moving forward.