Celtics All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown sat out Tuesday’s game against the Nets to rest, and several of the others who ended up playing probably would have benefited from a breather, too.
But rookie guard Baylor Scheierman was not among them. Entering Tuesday, Scheierman had played just 143 minutes all season.
In this game, he was fresh and ready, and it turned out he was exactly what Boston needed on a night when few others could hit much of anything. Scheierman hit 7 of 8 shots and 6 of 7 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 20 points in the Celtics’ 104-96 win. Entering Tuesday, Scheierman had been just 5 for 25 from the 3-point line all season.
With the victory, the Celtics (50-19) reached the 50-win mark for the fourth consecutive season.
At the end of the third quarter the Celtics had a well-executed two-for-one opportunity, with Scheierman leading the way. He sliced to the hoop for a layup with 29 seconds left, perhaps slightly later than Mazzulla would prefer, but quickly enough to give Boston a second chance.
After the Nets used their foul to give with 1.9 seconds left, Scheierman inbounded the ball to Porzingis from the left sideline. Porzingis quickly sent it back to Scheierman, whose 3-pointer at the buzzer swished through the net and gave Boston a 71-70 lead.
Scheierman added another 3-pointer at the 10:15 mark of the fourth before Boston went more than three minutes without a point and lost its lead. But Scheierman was not done. He hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer from the left corner with 7:08 left, and on Boston’s next possession he dribbled upcourt and stepped into a deep 3 from the left arc. It bounced off the rim, and there were brief groans of disappointment from the fans. But then the ball took two more bounces and slid through the net, giving Boston an 84-80 lead.
Finally, with 5:30 left, Scheierman shook his defender with a pump fake and stepped into another 3-pointer—his fourth of the quarter—that gave the Celtics an 89-82 lead. When Scheierman exited just over a minute later he received a standing ovation.
The Nets sliced the deficit to 4 in the final minute but could get no closer.
Kristaps Porzingis had 25 points and 13 rebounds in his second game back after missing eight in a row due to a respiratory illness, and he maintained his momentum at the start Tuesday. He made the Celtics’ first three shots, including a loud dunk that followed a steal.
But he received little help at the start, with the rest of the team combining to go just 4 for 16 over the rest of the opening quarter. That lukewarm shooting combined with four turnovers helped Brooklyn take an early 26-21 lead.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla pointed out before the game that the Nets won the shot margin in Saturday’s game, a major area of focus for Boston. But the issue persisted for most of Tuesday’s matchup, in large part due to the Celtics’ turnovers.
The Nets needed just one minute to go on a 7-0 run that was capped by a Nicolas Claxton dunk that gave them a 46-37 lead with 3:19 left in the second quarter, and Brooklyn eventually took a five-point lead to the break.
Derrick White, who was well-positioned for a loud offensive night with both Tatum and Brown out, made just 1 of 7 shots in the opening half. But he did not stay silent for long.
White poured in 13 points over the first 6:30 of the third quarter, with a pair of 3-pointers and a 3-point play mixed into the surge. That run tied the score at 62, and Pritchard then gave Boston a three-point lead by adding another 3-pointer soon after. Scheierman took care of the rest.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
