The shorthanded Celtics rallied from a nine-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-96 for their third straight win. The hosts played without Jayson Tatum (knee) and Jaylen Brown (knee) in the same game for the first time all season and needed a big offensive second half to pull out the victory.

Rookie Baylor Scheierman was the unexpected hero in the comeback, scoring a career-high 20 points in 16 minutes off the bench, including 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. Five of those six makes came in the second half as a small-ball bench lineup from Joe Mazzulla helped the Celtics take control of the game midway through the second half before the starters finished things off.

Kristaps Porzingis added a double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds while Derrick White added 16 of his 18 points in the second half, helping Boston shake off a miserable offensive first half (44 points) for the victory. D’Angelo Russell had a team-high 18 points for the Nets who were swept in the season series by Boston.

The Celtics will now have two days off before beginning a six-game road trip starting on Friday night in Utah.

Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win on Tuesday night:

Kristaps Porzingis is showing no signs of his illness: The Celtics big man showed no lingering effects of his illness in his second game back from a lengthy absence. The big man led all scores with 14 points in the first half on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including Boston’s first seven points of the game. He was able to take advantage of size mismatches regularly in the post, showing off terrific footwork to create easy looks. Defensively, he was stout with his rim protection as well against a Nets team that liked to attack the paint. Porzingis finished the game with a game-high 22 points.

Boston’s offense without its stars comes out flat: The Nets don’t have a ton of talent but they play hard and outside of Porzingis, Boston’s couldn’t create easy offense anywhere. The hosts managed just 42 first half points on 35.9 percent shooting. 61 percent of the team’s shot attempts came from beyond the arc but the Celtics were just 6-of-24 from downtown with no one in the starting five shooting better than 33 percent from 3. With just two offensive rebounds despite the poor shooting, Boston’s offense was looking very one dimensional early on.

Derrick White comes alive in third quarter: The veteran guard struggled out of the gate, missing six of his first seven shots in the first half, leading to just two points early on a night Boston was desperate for offense. The tide turned quickly in the third quarter though as White erupted for 14 points in the first seven minutes of the period alone, helping Boston erase a nine-point Nets lead in a hurry. White’s aggression in the paint and willingness to take the 3-point shot punished the Nets guards as he used screens well.

Baylor Scheierman has officially broken out of his shooting slump: The first-round pick couldn’t buy a basket for the first four months of the season, mustering just four field goals in limited opportunities, including dreadful shooting from beyond the arc. The rookie has found some confidence though in recent weeks following up what was a career-high 15 points against the 76ers last week. He saw rotation minutes again Tuesday night and knocked down six of seven 3-point attempts including a deep buzzer beater to end the third quarter, which helped swing the momentum Boston’s way on his way to a career-high 20 points. Scheierman has now gone 11-of-18 from 3-point range in his last four games alone. With more rest of the horizon for Celtics regulars to close out the regular season, Schieierman is making the case for a bigger opportunity as he shows signs of being a late bloomer.

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