The Boston Celtics’ dominant stretch over the Brooklyn Nets ended Friday as they lost their first of the last 11 matchups with New York’s second team, 115-105, at TD Garden.
The C’s fell to 45-19, while the Nets improved to 35-28.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
There’s no arguing that the Celtics are one of the NBA’s best teams, but it has become evident over recent weeks that they have an issue playing to the level of their competition.
The latest example of that came Friday when Boston played with its food long enough for Brooklyn to keep things compelling, and eventually embarrass them on the parquet. The Nets, who are a solid team but have struggled to string together wins without a superstar, dominated the pace of play throughout the final five minutes of the first half and the entire second half, turning a once 28-point deficit into a 16-point lead.
The Celtics slowed their pace and were the less physical team, showing poor effort for most of the game.
Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla couldn’t seem to find a steady rotation, as he tried using Mike Muscala, Grant Williams, Luke Kornet, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser off the bench to mixed results. Ultimately, no one could improve the energy, especially after Robert Williams III went down with a hamstring injury, which put a stop to any hopes of building positive momentum.
In a tight race alongside the Milwaukee Bucks for the Eastern Conference’s first seed, blowing huge leads at home is not going to get it done for Boston.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Mikal Bridges is the Nets’ de facto star, meaning they look to him as the No. 1 option. He delivered Friday night, finishing with 38 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
— Spencer Dinwiddie was the perfect second fiddle to Bridges, scoring 17 points, dishing out eight assists and adding three steals and a block.
— Jaylen Brown was the Celtics’ most consistent scorer, finishing with 35 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
WAGER WATCH
Bridges was given -125 odds by DraftKings Sportsbook to surpass 28.5 total points, rebounds and assists. The former Suns forward surpassed that total by halftime, netting $100 bettors a $190.91 payout.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will welcome the New York Knicks to town for a matchup Sunday. Tipoff from TD Garden is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
