It took 15 games, but the Celtics, alas, finally climbed over the .500 hump with a 113-99 victory over the Nets on Tuesday night — and it all came down to the final 12 minutes of play.
Boston fought tooth
and nail with the Nets in Brooklyn. Both teams traded double-digit leads, navigated their respective mistakes, and stayed within arm’s reach of making it out of Barclays Center victoriously. However, in the fourth quarter, the Celtics seemed to unlock a cheat code and executed a defensive effort that completely blindsided Brooklyn in the game’s decisive moments.
In the locker room, the Celtics viewed their defensive clinic — of holding the Nets to just 14 fourth-quarter points — as a testament to what they’re striving to cultivate this season.
“Just playing team basketball,” Jaylen Brown said. “Some guys made some big contributions and made some big shots, but we were able to get some stops. We held them to (14 points) in the fourth quarter. I think that was a big reason for our run, how we closed the game.”
Brown continued: “We had a slow start to the game. Brooklyn — it took us a minute to figure them out a little bit. They got some long, athletic guys. But once we got our feet set a little bit, we were able to make some plays.”
The Celtics didn’t just have to contend with a valiant effort from the 2-12 Nets, still searching for their first home win; they also had to overcome some uncharacteristic struggles from Boston’s alpha.
Brown, who finished with 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting, struggled out of the gate, prompting the rare sight of the four-time All-Star on the bench in the first half. By halftime, he had just six points, with as many made shots (three) as turnovers throughout 10:27 of playing time, which made him feel undeserving of being on the floor for the time being.
Brown, who finished with 29 points on 9-of-19 shooting, struggled out of the gate, prompting the rare sight of the four-time All-Star on the bench in the first half. By halftime, he had just six points, with as many made shots (three) as turnovers in 10:27 of playing time, and that start left him feeling undeserving of his minutes on the floor.
“I was just playing like s**t in the first half, honestly — turning the ball over, etc,” he admitted. “So it just took me a minute to figure it out, and I picked it up to close the game. But I gotta come out with a better start in the first half, especially in the first quarter, because the team feeds off me. I know that.”
Brown’s early missteps didn’t help Boston’s case, but he, like the team, found his stride and hit the sweet spot when it mattered most.
Boston’s defense smothered Brooklyn in the fourth quarter, holding the Nets to an abysmal 4-of-15 (26.7%) shooting, including just 1-of-9 from three. That offensive freeze allowed the Celtics to stretch a narrow 92-90 lead with 7:38 remaining into a commanding 14-point cushion, 109-95, by 1:43 left in regulation.
The Celtics came down with 15 rebounds in the quarter — more than any other period of the night — and added three steals after failing to record a single one in the first half.
That’s the kind of turnaround that forces you to reconsider where an 8-7 Celtics team, currently sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference, will end up.
“I thought the difference in the game was our second-half defense and our offensive execution,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “You take a look at the tale of two halves and how the game’s connected. They had 25 points in transition and we had 12 first-half turnovers. When you give them that, they’re a good team and they beat you. We only had (seven) turnovers in the second half — did a much better job in that department, kept them out of transition, and we were able to execute.”
Once the Celtics cleaned up the 12 turnovers they committed in the first half, along with the 22 unanswered fast-break points allowed to the Nets, everything began to click for them. Time and again, Boston has shown how playing a disciplined, tight 48 minutes of basketball can push the team to greater heights. That bar isn’t concrete, which is part of what makes them the most pleasant — and sometimes frustrating — surprise in the East so far. The fluctuations over their first 15 games have highlighted both the best and worst of the Celtics, while also proving there’s plenty of potential beneath their star-power-depleted roster.
Nobody is rushing the inevitable tedious process, and after a 3-5 start that had them pinned as the No. 12 seed in the East just 16 days ago, the Celtics have inched closer to the contender’s circle.
“It feels good to be over .500, but we gotta go home now and we gotta get this one on Friday (against the Nets),” Payton Pritchard said. “That’s the main focus. We gotta keep this going, and every game is gonna be a battle, so keep chipping away at it and keep getting better and better.”
