Celtics dominate Nets with explosive offense, Jaylen Brown stars. Boston's MVP hopeful leads a rout, exposing Brooklyn's defensive struggles.
The Brooklyn Nets traveled to the TD Garden for an anticipated matchup against the Boston Celtics on Friday night, but were rudely handed a 148-111 blowout defeat.
In what was Brooklyn's most embarrassing defensive performance of the season by a country mile, the Celtics reached their 148-point figure shooting 66.7% from the field (52-for-78) and 64.7% (22-for-34) from the three-point line as a collective.
Boston has walked away the victor in five of their last six games and sit as the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed with a 39-20 record.
Jaylen Brown and trade deadline acquisition Nikola Vucevic led the way for the C's with dominant individual outings. The former registered 28 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor and connecting on all four of his tries from distance.
The latter matched Brown's 28-point night and hauled in 11 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
Brooklyn's lack of resistance in every possible fashion on the defensive side of the ball came around in the latter stages, allowing Boston to score 82 second-half points.
Michael Porter Jr. did all he could to keep the game within reach prior to the start of the back half, finishing with 18 points on 50% from the field. Rookie Danny Wolf contributed 16 points on 12 shots, Nolan Traoré scored 8 points, dished 7 assists and swiped 3 steals in 24 minutes of work.
The Nets did not leave without making somewhat of a memorable mark on the contest, however. This was courtesy of recent acquisition and ex-Celtic Josh Minott in his return to TD Garden.
With 59 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Minott caught a pass on the break and flushed a poster dunk over his former teammate Hugo Gonzalez for an and-one opportunity.
Minott provided some desperately needed momentum before Boston closed the first quarter with a 35-32 lead.
The second frame saw the reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard connect on a few three's and Brown bring his running total up to 14 points before the halftime break. Pritchard ended his night with 22 points and 5 assists in flashy fashion.
In the third, a mix of Brown's outside shot-making and Neemias Queta's rim-running ability broke the floodgates open for the Celtics on their way to a 43-point quarter. Queta's 8 points on 4-for-4 shooting acted as a great stabilizer for Boston's offensive attack, as he'd always be around the basket for easy finishes in the dunker spot.
Grant Nelson brought the only semblance of a bright spot for Brooklyn, as the rookie two-way signee notched his first NBA points midway through the fourth quarter with a dunk, cutting the Celtics' lead to 39.
Brooklyn now awaits a matchup Sunday afternoon against another red-hot Eastern Conference squad in the Cleveland Cavaliers, when they'll attempt to end their 7-game skid at home.
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