BSJ Game Report: Nets 115, Celtics 105 - Nets erase 28 point C's lead

Everything you need to know about the Celtics loss to the Brooklyn Nets, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out of the gates aggressively, drawing a ton of early fouls on the Nets and building a big lead. Brooklyn looked hapless and helpless, and Boston built a 28-point lead in the second quarter. But they started to get cute, started to showboat some, and completely stopped playing defense and the Nets made a late run to cut it to 9 at the half. The collapse continued into the third quarter and Boston fell behind by 9, hearing the boos from the crowd. The deficit grew to 12, and then the Celtics tried to make a push, but at that point, they were missing too many easy shots and the Nets were too hot.

Box Score

HEADLINES 

Respect your opponent: The Celtics can say they had respect for their opponent because they came out and built a 28-point lead. But what they don’t have, and haven't had enough this season, is the respect to finish the job. The Celtics had the Nets down big and committed the cardinal sin of giving them life by quitting defensively and letting a team struggling from deep to see some shots fall. Once they started to feel good about their shooting, it turned into a tsunami. 

Shooting still cold: The Celtics went 9-30 from deep. There were really two culprits here: Jayson Tatum was 0-8 and Derrick White was 0-4. 

Turnovers were killers: 19 turnovers for 21 points, and there were some horrific ones in there. Between the turnovers and the misses -- and oh by the way, 13 offensive rebounds -- the Nets getting 11 more shots and 14 more 3-pointers up. The Celtics actually shot a better percentage overall (48.8% to 42.1%) and the 3-point percentages were close (30% for Boston, 31.8% for Brooklyn), but Nets got more shots and more free throws. More on this later.

TURNING POINT

The Celtics were still up 22 when they gave up two obscenely wide-open 3-pointers that I feel like changed the entire tenor of the game. 

Dorian Finney-Smith got this look, which he knocked down.

He’s struggling a bit from deep this season, but he has a few really good shooting seasons under his belt so him hitting a warm up-level 3-pointer isn’t some shock. 

Worse than Finney-Smith getting that shot was Mikal Bridges getting this one: 

The man is shooting 40% from 3 this season and 38% for his career. How is he that wide open? 

The Celtics were jogging back off a Robert Williams alley oop and Spencer Dinwiddie pushed the ball hard. The Celtics got cross-matched because of it and he blew by Al Horford, collapsing the defense. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown didn’t communicate, and they both went to Royce O’Neale in the corner. That left Bridges WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE open. 

That 3-pointer keyed a 16-4 run to close the quarter and make it a 9-point game going into the half. 

FIVE UP/DOWN

This was a weird game so this part will have to match that energy to be appropriate. No one had a definitive “good” game because everyone was complicit in the mistakes that got Brooklyn going. So here we go. 

Jaylen Brown: 35 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals. The numbers look great, but 21 of those came in the first half on 61.5% shooting overall and 3-4 from 3. He missed all 4 3-pointers he took in the second half and was a -19. 

“A couple plays in the second half I felt like I could have got to the basket and I shot a 3, and I shot a 3 when I probably could have gotten to the basket,” Brown said. “So it’s just trying to find that rhythm and make the best decisions.”

Jayson Tatum: He was 10-15 on 2-pointers but only 2-2 from the line. He needs to be getting to line more often to reach maximum effectiveness. He did have 13 rebounds and 5 assists, but he missed all 8 of his 3-pointers and he got stripped of the ball for 3 live ball turnovers out of his 4. 

Marcus Smart: He had 8 assists and was 50% from deep. I thought early in the game when Boston was building their 28-point lead, he was great at pushing the pace and making sure the Celtics were adding to their lead. Then he had 4 fouls in just a couple of minutes in the third and had to sit. And once he sat he got a technical foul. Brutal turnaround there. 

Derrick White: 16 points and it looked like he was back to doing his usual “it’s not fair having this guy coming off the bench” kind of thing. But his three second-half turnovers were killers. 

Grant Williams: His game was definitely just “down.” He gave the Celtic 10 mostly empty minutes in the first half and didn’t play at all in the third quarter. Joe Mazzulla went to him in the fourth, it seemed, because they were out of options. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER 

- Joe Mazzulla has a point about taking a bunch of 3-pointers

I’m a firm believer in quality over quantity, and have said as much about that here. However, Mazzulla’s constant preaching of shooting more 3-pointers has some value as well. 

“3-point attempt rate is the most important stat in the game of basketball because of the pace of play, because of the shot selection, and because of the ability to go on runs,” he said after the game. “When you get out-shot by 14 threes, the potential points there are crucial because that gives you way more shots and that gives you more opportunities. And so, to me, I’m not really that surprised or worked up about it because a 24-point lead in the first half, in today’s NBA with the way offenses are, means almost nothing.”

Facts are facts, and Mazzulla is spitting facts in this quote. 

We’re worked up, justifiably so, about blowing a 28-point lead. The next piece you read from me will be an excoriation of this team’s all too frequent inability to hold leads. 

However, Mazzulla is 100% correct in saying these big leads early in the game are virtually meaningless because teams play so fast and they focus on getting 3-pointers so much that leads can disappear quickly. A few misses on one end, a few makes on the other, and 28 can become 17 in a blink. 

“They make a couple of shots, they feel good, you have a couple empty possessions, and then they start to see that it's a closer game,” Mazzulla said. “And it's just a matter of you have to put pressure on execution. And it’s about the end games. If you don't end the quarter well, you give a team life. You don’t end a half well, you give a team life.”

Mazzulla means a lot more than just jacking up a bunch more shots when he said they need to shoot more 3-pointers. 

“The 3-point attempts are very important, but it’s also getting more shots, offensive rebounds, turnovers, free throws,” he said. “All those things add into that.”

I get what he’s talking about. The 3-point attempt rate is huge, and there are a lot of factors that go into getting that to where it needs to be. The Celtics need to do more of those other things well more consistently. 

I still believe in quality over quantity, but I see Mazzulla’s point. I think we’re saying some of the same things even if it seems contradictory. It’s about doing all the right things to generate these opportunities. When those things are done, those opportunities present themselves, and often those present as 3-pointers. 

Next up: The Celtics have a rematch against the New York Knicks, this time at TD Garden, Sunday night at 7:30.