BSJ Game Report: Celtics 109, Nets 98 - Supporting cast stars in Boston's 5th straight win

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Brooklyn Nets with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

This game was basically a matter of Brooklyn playing well and making runs, Boston withstanding them, and finding little spots to fire back. Kyrie Irving came out hot and it looked like he might try to drop 50, but he tailed off. The Celtics, meanwhile, kept coming all the way back from whatever the Nets threw at them. Finally, they came out with a huge fourth-quarter run and clamped down on defense to pull away for their fifth win a row.

Box Score

HEADLINES

Role Players step up: Seven players shot 50% or better for Boston while Tatum shot 31.8% … just 18.2% (2-11) in the second half! Jayson Tatum did other things for sure, but he was way off in this game, and everyone else on the roster made sure they stepped up. I don’t care that Brooklyn didn’t have Kevin Durant, the way they won this game makes this one of the best of the season.  

Turning Off Transition: The Nets outscored Boston 21-8 in transition points through the first three quarters, but Boston was able to shut that water off after that. 

“I think our half-court defense was great the entire night,” Joe Mazzulla said. “In the fourth quarter, we managed the game offensively, we got great looks, we had good spacing, and it kept them out of transition for the majority of the time.”

The Nets only had 3 points in transition in the fourth. Ben Simmons, who was really good in transition through three quarters (13 assists) had no assists in the fourth. 

Back-To-Back Brilliance: The Celtics are now 7-0 on the second night of back-to-backs. 

“No matter the game, we just talk about mindset,” Mazzulla said. “Trying to have the right mindset coming into the night knowing that games are hard. Like, games are hard. We’re actually terrible on two days rest so I hope we don't have that anytime coming up.”

Actually, you do. Next Thursday. Don’t worry about it right now, though. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics turned 2 point lead after the third quarter into a 12-point lead after five minutes. Again, everyone seemed to have a hand in it, starting the Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Pritchard, and capped by this alley oop play to Luke Kornet … which was probably an offensive goaltend that didn’t get called, which drew this reaction. 

It’s okay though. The refs missed a blatant goaltending in the first quarter against Brooklyn so it evened out. 

The Nets, who were hot for most of the game, missed 6 of their first 7 shots to start the fourth. 

EVERYBODY (Except Tatum) UP

I’ll just do this alphabetically…

Malcolm Brogdon: He was key to that fourth-quarter run and scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half. He was 4-5 in the second half, hitting both his 3-pointers. 

Luke Kornet: He did a ton of work early in the game and was perfect from the field. He hit a hook shot, a corner 3-pointer, a putback, an alley oop, and that weird thing at the end that shouldn’t have counted. He also defended well and did a good job moving the ball.

Payton Pritchard: He was having a rough night, but he was still getting offensive rebounds. Then he got himself a driving layup from the right corner and next thing you know he was doing a Damon Stoudemire impression. The offensive rebounding thing is amazing, though. He’s so surprisingly good at that. 

Marcus Smart: He started slow, shooting just 2-8 (1-5 3pt) in the first half. He looked rusty and slow, but he picked it up later. He would say after the game that it took a little bit to get going after missing the two games with a knee contusion. He had 10 points and 2 assists in the second half, 16 points and 10 assists overall. 

Derrick White: Did the Celtics move the ball well? Yes they did, and White ended up shooting 4-7 from 3 because of it. He also had 7 rebounds and another blocked shot. White did most of his damage early on, scoring 12 in the first half. 

Grant Williams: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, and more importantly, he was a +10 over almost 43 minutes! He’s one of the unsung heroes of the game with his halfcourt defense. 

Robert Williams: 29:27 was his biggest minute output yet! As usual, he was bailing guys out, mostly on the offensive end. He’s once again showing his value as an outlet for drivers when help comes over. 

(sorry Sam Hauser, you only played 5:09 and you didn’t qualify)

ONE DOWN

Jayson Tatum: He grabbed 11 rebounds and had 5 assists, so it wasn’t all bad, but he was running mud all night. He looked gassed from the opening tip and it showed on the floor. The Celtics played slower when he was out there, though some credit has to go to the Nets' defense, which hounded him all night. He finished with 20 points, but it took him 22 shots to get there. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Brooklyn isn’t winning with Ben Simmons 

Simmons was picking the Celtics apart in transition because he’s a wizard with the ball on the break and anyone who gets open in the chaos will find the ball in their hands. 

In the halfcourt, though, he’s a mess. And in the playoffs, halfcourt basketball is king. When the Celtics were able to get Brooklyn into the halfcourt, he was useless. 

He doesn’t want to shoot, so he forces bad plays way too often, which is an untenable situation. No basketball team can have four guys on the floor working to get the best shot possible and then this guy passing up the shot everyone worked for him to get. 

This was a good game and the Nets are playing better, but I don’t fear them in the playoffs. Durant had better take two months off so he can be fresh for a run to the Finals. Unless he’s 100% and has his legs under him, the Nets will fade just like they did last season. 

Next up: The Celtics face Charlotte twice in a row in Charlotte, starting Saturday night.