It took just about everything the Celtics had - and then a little more they weren’t sure they had - to escape Brooklyn (12-31) on Friday night.

Boston outlasted the Nets 130-126 in a double-overtime grinder at Barclays Center, improving to 28-16 in a game that felt equal parts exhausting and improbable.

With Derrick White sitting for rest and the Celtics staring down yet another late-game collapse, it was rookie Hugo Gonzalez who swung the night with a shot that kept Boston alive when it looked like the door was closing.

The Nets, coming off an outright embarrassment against the Knicks earlier in the week, played like a team desperate to prove that effort still matters. They controlled long stretches of the game, dictated the physicality, and repeatedly tested Boston’s composure late. The Celtics briefly looked ready to pull away in the fourth, only to watch a 10-point lead evaporate in the final minutes of regulation.

What followed was chaos.

Brooklyn forced overtime once, nearly ended it in the first extra frame, and still couldn’t finish the job. Boston finally separated in the second overtime behind sheer survival instincts - and a few massive plays in the biggest moments.

Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ thrilling double-overtime win:

This win came at a cost.

Jaylen Brown logged 46 minutes, Payton Pritchard played 40, and Sam Hauser pushed nearly 39 in a game that asked far more than Boston likely wanted on the front end of a back-to-back.

White getting the night off for rest helps, but there’s no hiding the mileage the rest of the rotation piled up.

Whether the Celtics choose to rest bodies or try to steal one in Chicago (22-22) will come down to Saturday’s injury report.

Either way, Friday night ensured the Bulls won’t be getting a fresh Boston team.

This season has been filled with late-game frustration, which is why this one mattered.

The Celtics watched a double-digit fourth-quarter lead disappear, nearly lost it again in the first overtime, and still found a way to close.

Gonzalez’s three was the headline moment, but it took far more than that. Brown’s triple-double (27 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists), Pritchard’s 32 points, and just enough defensive resistance kept Boston from adding another brutal loss to the ledger.

It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t composed. But it counted.

Boston didn’t have the luxury of shortening the rotation.

Ron Harper Jr. saw his first real minutes of the season. Neemias Queta and Luka Garza both fouled out, forcing Amari Williams into unexpected double-overtime duty. Williams responded with energy and capped the night with an emphatic block on Nolan Traore that effectively ended it.

For two-way players who haven’t had much runway this year, Friday was proof that staying ready matters - because sometimes you don’t get a warning.

Joe Mazzulla’s late-game feel deserves credit here.

With the Celtics set for what looked like their final possession in the first overtime, Mazzulla pulled Gonzalez aside, gave him a quick rundown, and sent the rookie into the moment. One play later, Baylor Scheierman found Gonzalez in the corner, and the rookie calmly knocked down the three that forced a second overtime.

It was the defining moment of Gonzalez’s young career so far, especially after earlier mistakes had briefly sent him to the bench. Trust was extended - and rewarded - at the biggest possible moment.

Celts just may have gotten a guy at 28th overall.

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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.