The Celtics end preseason with a win in Boston.


The Celtics end the preseason with a 101-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets sat out Pierce, D-Will, AK-47, Garnett, Johnson, and Lopez. Here's a brief summary on each individual quarter.

First Quarter: Celtics first quarter starters: Bradley, Wallace, Green, Olynyk, Faverani.

Alan Anderson came out scoring the Nets' first 5 points. The Celtics struggled early offensively; they didn't score their first field goal until they were almost 5 minutes into the game. That field goal came from Vitor Faverani who came out aggressive on both ends of the floor by hitting a three pointer, getting to the line 4 times, grabbing 4 rebounds and came up with great defensive plays. Jeff Green was also aggressive in the first quarter. Even though he went 0/1 from the field, he got the line 6 times. The defense got lazy towards the end of the quarter, and so the Nets were able to end the quarter on a 6-0 run, giving them a 24-19 lead, as their bench scored 10 points early.

Second Quarter: Celtics second quarter starters: Pressey, Lee, Wallace, Bass, Humphries.

The Celtics outscored the Nets by 10 in this quarter. Both teams came out with good effort. The Celtics were aggressive defensively and caused trouble for the Nets. Courtney Lee came out with 4 points and 1 assist, while Phil Pressey had a good 2nd quarter scoring 2 points and dishing out 4 assists while turning the ball over only 1 time in the 2nd quarter. Bradley was more aggressive in the 2nd quarter, but he was still missing point blank layups, hopefully he can shake off the offensive funk he's been in later on in the regular season. Faverani continued his first quarter performance by crashing the boards, getting in close, and finishing shots with ease. The Celtics end the quarter on a 12-4 run to give them a 44-49 halftime lead.

Notable Halftime Stats:

Celtics out-rebound the Nets 22-17, as well as "out-pass" them with a 15-8 edge in assists.
Vitor Faverani- 11 points 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks on 4/6 shooting from the field, 1/3 from 3-point range, in just 15 minutes.
Avery Bradley- 10 points 3 rebounds, and 2 assists shooting 5/11 from the field (0-2 from 3-point range, in 14 minutes.
Branond Bass- A quiet 8 points on 4/4 shooting from the field in 12 minutes.

Third Quarter: Celtics third quarter starters: Bradley, Wallace, Green, Olynyk, Faverani.

There were several ties and lead changes in this quarter as Wallace and Green came out aggressive and attacked the basket early. Wallace had a good scoring quarter. He hit a three, as well as made cuts to the basket for easy layups. Faverani continued to play well, making great defensive plays and cleaning up misses on the offensive end. Kelly Olynyk woke up a little in the 3rd quarter scoring 5 points. Neither team really made a break away and the Celtics held onto a 72-71 lead going into the fourth.


Fourth Quarter:
Fourth Quarter starters: Pressey, Lee, Green, Bass, Olynyk

Pressey had a bit of a bumpy start to the fourth, but the defense early was pretty good. Faverani kept up the good play getting layups and committing the right kind of fouls on defense, he made the point-preventing fouls, not too much of those ticky-tack fouls. Whenever the Celtics seemed to be running away with the game, the Nets found a way to keep the game close. Whether it was a few free throws, a lucky shot, or a 3-pointer the Nets kept it close. Bass and Olynyk made some nice plays towards the end of the game to end it.

End of game lineup: Bradley, Lee, Wallace, Bass, Olynyk

Regardless of who played or not, it was good to see the Celtics end the preseason with a win on their home court, and it was especially good to see Faverani play so damn well in such little time. He was easily the player of the game. I wonder if he'll start opening.