It wasn’t exactly pretty, but it got the job done.

The Celtics (8-7) didn’t exactly open cleanly on Tuesday night, but they steadied themselves long enough to leave Brooklyn with a 113-99 win over the Nets (2-12).

The victory nudged Boston above .500 for the first time this season, winning three games in a row for only the second time in 2025-26.

Brooklyn came out with more energy than their 2-12 record suggests, seizing control of the first quarter and building a 10-point lead as the Celtics fumbled through early possessions. Eventually Boston recalibrated, trimming the deficit and navigating what became a back-and-forth affair for most of the night. Every time the Celtics looked ready to stretch the game open, the Nets tugged the margin back into single digits.

It was, candidly, annoying.

The difference arrived late.

Brooklyn simply ran out of offense, enduring a brutal stretch of more than nine minutes without a made field goal in the fourth, allowing the Celtics to land the decisive run. Jaylen Brown poured in 29 points - 23 in the second half - while Payton Pritchard delivered a strong double-double with 22 points and 10 boards.

Here are some takeaways from Tuesday night at Barclays Center:

1. “Why not Minott?” Was Back:

It’s been quieter lately for Minott, especially with Jordan Walsh carving out a starting role through his defense. But Tuesday was a reminder of Minott’s earlier surge.

In 19 high-motor minutes, he posted 10 points and 4 rebounds, knocking down all three of his attempts from deep. And even though he’s fallen out of the starting lineup, his performance on Tuesday made the rotation look deeper.

He’s been one of my favorites since the preseason. I think he gives Boston a two-way game that any team would want their sixth-or-seventh man to bring to the table. I consistently love his energy, and don’t think the moment has ever looked too big for him. Brad Stevens should be getting a ton of credit for bringing this guy in this offseason.

2. Sam Hauser Shows Signs of Life:

Minutes were scarce for Hauser against the Clippers (4-10), as his November shooting woes lingered.

Entering Tuesday he was a frigid 5 for 34 from three over his previous seven outings.

His performance in Brooklyn was a much needed step forward: 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and a pair of made threes on five attempts.

The Celtics are banking on regression to the mean, and this was closer to it.

It should be noted that Hauser sprained his right wrist ahead of Boston’s November 12 game against the 76ers. That may have something to do with his woes of late.

In any case - Boston needs their three-and-D guy to be reliable on both ends to have a chance at competing for one of the top five seeds in the Eastern Conference this season.

3. Sloppy Start Keeps BK in Game:

Boston’s sloppiness wasn’t just a vibe, it was also all over the stat sheet.

The Celtics coughed up 12 turnovers in the first half alone, fueling 17 Brooklyn points. Even more jarring was the 22-0 fast-break deficit at halftime, a stark contrast to Boston’s league-best 11.0 turnovers per game entering the night.

They ended with a season-high 19 giveaways, including 8 from Brown, a problem that lingered throughout.

When you lose the type of veteran talent Boston did this offseason, on top of Jayson Tatum being out with an injury, it should be a surprise to no one that this team has struggled with running a clean offense while they still try to navigate a relatively new roster.

4. No Playing With Food on Tuesday:

One thing the Celtics have struggled with this year is navigating tight finishes.

They came in 3-5 in “clutch” games, which is defined as being within 5 points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter.

Luckily for Celtics fans, they avoided that script entirely this time.

Brooklyn, poor in the clutch themselves, never got close enough late to test Boston’s late-game decisions. The Celtics controlled the final minutes comfortably, thanks largely to the Nets’ offensive drought.

Lingering Thoughts & Nuggets:

- This is the second straight game where Brown has made a point to neg himself in the postgame. Here’s my video from Sunday:

Tom Carroll (@yaboiTCfresh) on X While recording his first double-double of the season (33 points, 13 rebounds), Jaylen Brown said postgame that he didn’t think he had a good game: “My team counts on me to play a little bit better, and tonight I didn’t really play that well. So, looking forward to the next two

And here’s what he said in the locker room on Tuesday:

Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) on X Jaylen Brown was candid about his limited first-half minutes: “I was just playing like shit in the first half.”

I get that he’s holding himself to a high standard, as he should. But to see the best player on the team talk about his game negatively with the media in consecutive games after consecutive wins, both of which being games where he led the team in scoring, it sitting weird with me. I hope this energy is different behind the scenes.

- Celtics have a great shot to win four in a row for the first time this season with the Nets coming to Boston on Friday for the second leg of this home-and-home. And they better take advantage, because they have a mini-gauntlet coming up after Friday:

11/23 vs. Orlando (8-7)

11/26 vs. Detroit (13-2)

11/29 @ Minnesota (9-5)

11/30  @ Cleveland (10-5)

…not great!

Celtics are underdogs in each of those four games listed above.

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.