Three Takeaways From Nets' Heartbreaking Loss to Celtics

The Brooklyn Nets looked like they were about to escape Beantown with a victory, but unfortunately, Jayson Tatum's dagger sank right into the hearts of Nets fans, as the Boston Celtics escaped with a 125-124 victory in overtime.

Tatum finished the game with 40 points on 10-of-20 shooting, eight assists, five rebounds and one block. Paul George added 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, seven rebounds and seven assists.

While the Nets couldn't come away with their first win of the season, there is plenty to be optimistic about from Brooklyn's side.

What are the takeaways? Let's take a look.

Mikel Brown Jr. Puts Together Best Performance of Season

Mikel Brown Jr. finished with 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting, five rebounds and five assists.

He hit a triple to send the game into overtime, proving he has the clutch gene this early on in his career.

However, a couple of costly turnovers and some defensive deficiencies could've cost the Nets a chance of winning the game, but familiarizing himself with being in those situations this early on in his career is only going to benefit him as a top option throughout his career.

Julius Randle, Michael Porter Jr. Step Up

Julius Randle shook off a bad performance, finishing with 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists. Michael Porter Jr. finished with 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting and 12 rebounds.

The Nets are going to need this effort from their two top leaders moving forward if they hope to contend for a playoff spot this season.

Porter's offball movement looked a lot more sharp and Randle looked a lot better getting to the rim.

Though Randle still settled for a lot of jumpers, he was at least able to convert them at a high clip.

Showing Fight Against a Contending Team

A loss will show up as a loss in the record, and moral victories aren't necessarily in the Nets' vocabulary this season.

However. the Nets allowed themselves to lead for much of the game and were a buzzer-beater away from escaping with a victory.

The moral of the story is that a Nets team that is searching for their identity executed sets on both sides of the floor that allowed them to stay in it against a team that could represent the Eastern Conference in this years Finals.

They could certainly look to carry momentum from this game forward.