The Celtics got another game in the win column, this time beating the Nets 115-113 on Saturday in Brooklyn. The C’s swept their back-to-back this weekend, improving to 49-19 on the season. The Nets fell to 22-45 as they’ll be hoping lottery balls fall their way in the coming months.
Notably, the Celtics got Kristaps Porzingis back into the lineup. The big man missed the past eight games due to an illness, but finally made his return back to the court. The Celtics weren’t at full strength as they were down two rotation players in Derrick White and Al Horford for rest, but it was still a positive sign for the long-term. Notably, Jaylen Brown did leave the game early midway through the third quarter.
The C’s pulled away from the scuffling Nets in the second quarter, building up a 21-point lead. But the Nets refused to go away easily, whittling it down to a five-point game after the third quarter. That set the stage for a contested fourth quarter, and while the Nets got close multiple times, the Celtics never let them take the lead down the stretch. Porzingis was a key factor there (more on him later).
Porzingis led the way with 24 points while Jayson Tatum had 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Payton Pritchard added another 22 points. Cameron Johnson had 23 points and 10 rebounds as part of an impressive night. Keon Johnson, who came in shooting 29.1% from 3 this year, scored 21 points on 5-for-9 3-point shooting.
The Celtics return home to take on the Nets again, this time at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at TD Garden. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Brooklyn:
Big man returns: Porzingis looked all the way back as he finished with 32 minutes, including playing the entire fourth quarter Saturday. Porzingis shot 9-for-16 from the field and was also a plus-13 during his time on the court. He was also massive down the stretch as he scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. Considering he’s been out for weeks due to illness, it’ll take him some time to get back into game shape. But C’s coach Joe Mazzulla let the big man play plenty of minutes Saturday.
Nets battle: Even though the Celtics had a big lead, the Nets kept the pressure on as they rained 3s. The Nets finished 20-for-46 (43.5%) from behind the arc with plenty of answers throughout the night. Brooklyn got big shooting nights from unlikely sources like Johnson and Maxwell Lewis (3-for-3) as the C’s were outshot from 3-point land. The Nets also attacked the Celtics in other ways through the margins, whether it was their 22-2 lead in fast-break points and 17-9 advantage in second-chance points.
NBA history: The Celtics have made plenty of NBA records this season and Pritchard got in on more of the action Sunday. After hitting a 3-pointer with 5:59 left in the game, that was his 219th make of the season, the most in NBA history for 3s made off the bench. There have been plenty of prolific shooting seasons, but Pritchard’s was unique because he did it as a reserve. Pritchard has been favored to win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award all season, so it was fitting he got such a record Saturday.
On the court: Once again, Tatum was on the injury report ahead of Saturday’s game. Despite that, the C’s star suited up for both games of the road back-to-back. Tatum has talked at length about how he doesn’t like missing games — especially on the road — for the fans who want to see him. As he spoke about after the Miami win, he’ll continue to advocate to let him play even if the organization wants him to get some rest.
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