The Boston Celtics have finally stepped down to the Brooklyn Nets’ level. Well, almost.
Four years (or forever) ago, these two teams faced off in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in back-to-back years. The first series was way more fun than the other, and that’s my totally unbiased opinion.
Then, Brooklyn got bad, and Boston stayed good. The teams also made the disparity all too clear, with the Nets’ last win vs the Bean Town boys coming in 2023. That’s nine straight losses against their short-lived rival.
But tonight, with the Celtics coming in with a 7-7 seven record, hanging just two spots above the Nets in the basement of the East’s standings, it’s the closest they’ve been to each other since in some time. Boston’s still in a better spot, with far more talent on their roster and a recent Larry O’Brien to keep them warm down there, but they’re no longer a speck of green, barely visible off into the distance.
Be that as it may, it felt like Boston had no clue who the Nets were when the game opened up. The Celtics seemed unaware of Egor Dëmin’s difficulties getting to the rim, as well as Noah Clowney’s hot shooting. On the first swing sequence of the game, the former found the later for an open three after drawing attention on the drive that freed the shot up. Then on the next possession, Boston flat out let Clowney shoot it again. Again, Clowney made them pay.
Brooklyn made scoring in transition an early habit, beating the Celtics in break points 13-0 during the quarter. That, plus Dëmin mixing in two of his own threes, put the Nets up 21-11 roughly halfway through it. In doing so, they threw cold water on Jaylen Brown, who looked off to a masterful start after coming out of the gates firing from the midrange.
However, as one Boston guard chilled, the other heated up. Payton Pritchard dropped 11 points in the first to lead both teams early. Leveraging the defense, now queued in shooting touch, Pritchard also assisted on a Neemias Queta bucket that tied the game 29-29 at the end of the frame.
Drake Powell kept the transition game going in the second, finding Ziaire Williams in transition with a slick feed on one play and then going coast-to-coast for one of his own the next…
The Nets continued to dictate the game’s pace, hearing no pleas from the Boston parliament, all the way until the half, inflating the fast break scoring disparity to a 22-0 advantage by that point. The last time they had 20+ fast break points in a half was on 10/30/23, 1H at CHA (22). For reference, Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Royce O’Neale played in that game. It was their sixth most in a half since they began tracking the stat in 1997-98.
However, Brooklyn had no such control at the other end, as the Celtics shot 12-17 from the field and 7-10 from three in the period. Our next Boston guard, Anfernee Simons, had taken over by that point, dropping eight points in the quarter. Pritchard continued to hit from “will he, won’t he” territory as well, and that was enough to give Boston a one-point halftime lead, even with Dëmin adding two more triples in the frame himself.
After a high scoring firs half, neither the Celtics nor the Nets brought their offense with them when they came back out of the tunnel. The two teams collectively began the third quarter shooting 2-12 from the field with three turnovers.
Boston, however, momentarily found theirs, pulling to 5-9 shooting in the quarter roughly halfway through it and jumping up by 11 — their largest lead of the game. Brooklyn’s continued to evade them. They were unable to hit the same buttons they did in the first half, mustering just two break points in the period. Until Ziaire Williams hit a triple at the top of the key that made it an 80-72 game, Brooklyn had shot 2-16 from the field and 0-6 from three in the third.
In the last two years of Celtics vs Nets bouts, that probably would’ve been it. But again, Boston and Brooklyn? We’re not so different anymore, at least this year.
Helped by Williams, Brooklyn’s bench outscored Boston 16-7 in the frame. Day’Ron Sharpe tightened up the interior defense at one end. He added at least a half dozen at the other, shooting 3-3 from the field in the quarter, and probably more, mixing in a variety of screens to get the offense flowing. The Nets went into the fourth down just four, setting the stage for a fun finish.
A Porter Jr. triple to open up the fourth quickly made it a one point game. It was good to hear from MPJ, who scored 18 in the first half and just four in the second before that make. The Nets briefly tied the game 90-90, only for Boston to go on a quick 7-0 burst, capped off by a deep Sam Hauser triple.
Down seven and with seven to go, the Nets opted to close with their usual starting five but with Williams in for Dëmin. Despite that being an anti-rebuild move, what happened next favored the tank.
Helped by a sequence where the Nets gave up three offensive rebounds in one possession, Boston went on an 14-5 run. That was enough to ice things, as was the closest thing we’ve seen to a change of heart from Jordi Fernández’s in terms of a pro-tanking agenda, as he put in Nolan Traoré and Danny Wolf with the Nets only down 12 and still with about two to play.
But outside of that, Brooklyn’s slow march toward the loss was a tough watch. Nic Claxton couldn’t finish off a potential and-one at the cylinder, and missed one of the free throws. On the next play, Derrick White dribbled the ball of his leg. Rather than more fast break points, Brooklyn committed an offensive foul, giving the ball back seconds later. Clowney also went 0-2 from the charity stripe a few moments later.
Porter Jr. once again led all Nets with 25 points after shooting 8-16 from the field and 4-8 from deep, coming up with three steals and six rebounds as well. Sharpe followed him with 16 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Clowney added 13 points shooting 4-8 from the field and 3-4 from deep while Dëmin captured 12 points, four assists, three rebounds, and a steal.
Again, they were close, and almost on the same level, but not quite there.
Final: Brooklyn Nets 99, Boston Celtics 113
Milestone Watch
The Nets have recorded a season-high 12 steals tonight against Boston, led by three apiece from Michael Porter Jr. and Day’Ron Sharpe.
Terance Mann had a season-high seven assists, tied as the fifth most in his career.
Michael Porter Jr. (22 points) has scored 20+ points in seven consecutive games, the longest streak of his career (previous high of six, twice in 2021 with Denver).
E. Demin (12 PTS, 4-4 3PT in the first half) is the first Nets rookie to make at least four 3FG without a miss in a half since R. Kurucs (5-5, 1/7/19 @ BOS).
Brooklyn’s 50.0% (10-20) 3PT in the first half was their highest 3PT% in a half this season. Their 10 3PM are tied for their 4th-most in a half (11, 3 times).
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Want more Nets vs Celtics action? You don’t? Well, either way, you’re getting it. Brooklyn will head up to the TD Garden to play Boston again on Friday night, this time in an NBA Cup contest. For anyone wondering, the Nets have two other occasions this season where they’ll play the same team in two straight games — one featuring the Chicago Bulls in January and another against the Miami Heat in early March.