Recap: Celtics take care of business in Brooklyn, beat the Nets 110-91
BROOKLYN – Coming into Monday night's game against the Nets, Boston had dropped three in a row following a 5-game win streak. Shooting 51% at the Barclays Center, Boston got back into the win column and claimed the season series, 3-1.
Evan Turner was an undeniable stand-out in the win, securing his second triple-double of the season and his NBA career (19 points, 10 boards + 12 assists). Avery Bradley was the Celtics' high scorer on the night with 20 points (8/16 FG), second only to Brooklyn's Lopez who had 31. Tyler Zeller had 18 points and was one of six Celtics who shot 50% or better.
Boston held Brooklyn to 17 points in the 4th quarter, which included Kelly Olynyk going on a one-man scoring spree and building the Celtics lead to 16 points. Olynyk would end the night with 18 points (7/12) and 5 rebounds. Six Celtics logged double digits including two players from the bench (Olynyk, 18 and Jerebko, 10). Jae Crowder wasn't far behind with 9 points and 5 boards.
Boston's 2nd unit supplied 39 points and 17 rebounds in the winning effort and out-shot Brooklyn's bench by 11 points.
Monday night's starting line-ups:
CELTICS Bass, Bradley, Smart, Turner and Zeller
NETS Brown, Johnson, Lopez, Williams and Young
Isaiah Thomas was still sidelined for the game in NYC but is described as probable for Wednesday night’s game back in Boston.
1st Half
Joe Johnson made the game's opening basket and Evan Turner had Boston's first points on the night. Avery Bradley had 8 of Boston's 12 points in the opening 5 minutes of the quarter. The Celtics trailed in early minutes by as many as 7 but were tied up at 16 with a little over 5 minutes left in the 1st. At the end of the quarter, Boston was down by 5. Worth noting -- the Celtics did not make any trips to the foul line in the opening 12 minutes.
Olynyk would get to the line and make 1 of 2 in the opening 2 minutes of the 2nd. At the 7 minute mark, the game was tied up at 34. Celtics were shooting 53%. With 3+ minutes to go in the quarter, Boston's defense forced a Brooklyn shot clock violation.
The 1st half proved to be a team effort offensively. Jerebko went 4/7 FG for 8 points, Bass also had 8 points for the half, Turner with 10, Olynyk and Zeller finished at 6 points a piece and Bradley led all Celtics scorers with 11.
Young and Lopez both ended the half in double digits for the Nets. Brooklyn out rebounded the C's (30-20) but Boston took the lead and sealed the quarter with an Olynyk three from top of the key. 1st half score: Celtics 54, Nets 49
2nd Half
Jae Crowder got the 2nd half start for Marcus Smart.
Opposing big men Zeller and Lopez scored the opening baskets of the 3rd. Zeller would score the Celtics first 4 points. With 7+ minutes left in the quarter, Lopez led all scorers with 20 and Turner led with 14, 4 boards and 6 assists for Boston.
A nice second chance basket for Crowder rounded out the halfway mark of the quarter and 11 Boston points separated the two teams until Lopez made a one handed shot from foul line territory. Deron Williams and some fancy dancing/dribbling skills showed up shortly thereafter -- twice over -- and the C's lead was cut to 7. Under a minute left in the quarter, Boston's lead had shrunk to 5 until a 3pt play by Crowder followed by a 3-point FG from Olynyk pushed it back to 11. At completion of the quarter, the Celtics held a 9-point advantage.
Jonas Jerebko started up the Celtics' (leading 83-74) 4th quarter offense with a hammer dunk. Pressey had a nice drive to the hoop for two, followed by one from Turner. Olynyk would then score 7 straight points - ignited by a dunk - AND all 7 points of a Celtics' 7-0 run, putting him at 18. With 9 minutes to go, three team fouls had been called on Boston, with none yet called on Brooklyn.
At the 4th quarter's halfway mark, the Boston lead was 11. Aggressive play from Crowder and back-to-back baskets from Bradley pushed the C's lead to 14. With a little over 3 minutes to play, Olynyk and Bradley both had 18 points on the night.
Celtics take this one from Brooklyn -- in NYC -- by a very convincing 19 points.
Final score: Celtics 110, Nets 91
Brooklyn Notables:
Up Next: The Celtics head home to meet (and fingers crossed, beat) the Heat for their last regular season match-up! #playoffpush
Photo Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler
Follow Steph on Twitter @stephmbenz
