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Celtics Wrap: Boston Beats Nets For 13th Straight Win As Warriors Showdown Looms

NESN by Nicholas Goss on Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 9:54PM

The Boston Celtics won their 13th straight game Tuesday night, but they had to give tremendous effort to earn it. The C’s outlasted the Brooklyn Nets 109-102 at Barclays Center in a game that included many lead changes and momentum swings. Boston’s bench really struggled, but the starters picked up the slack, led by Kyrie Irving’s 25 points, 21 from Marcus Morris and 19 by Jayson Tatum. Boston’s win streak is its longest since a 14-game run in the 2010-11 campaign. The C’s improved to 13-2 with the victory, while the Nets fell to 5-9. Here’s how it all went down.

STARTING FIVE PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Jaylen Brown SF: Jayson Tatum PF: Marcus Morris C: Al Horford

FAST START The C’s led 14-4 after a 9-0 run, which forced the Nets to take an early timeout. They hit six of their first eight shots, led by Jayson Tatum’s five points. Brown, who threw down an insane dunk, finished the quarter with seven points. Irving struggled early from the field wearing a mask to protect his facial injury, but he did hit two 3-point shots, including one at the end of the quarter that increased Boston’s lead to 30-21 after 12 minutes. Boston shot 13 of 28 from the field in the quarter, including an impressive 6-for-10 mark from 3-point range. The Nets shot 1-for-8 from beyond the arc.

NETS FIGHT BACK The Nets showed good fight to chip away at the lead and come within 37-36 after an Allen Crabbe 3-pointer with 6:51 remaining in the stanza. Brooklyn took the lead 38-37 after a Boston turnover following a timeout. It capped a 17-5 run by the Nets. Brooklyn pushed its lead to 43-37 as part of a 14-0 run before free throws from Irving stopped Boston’s scoring drought of almost four minutes. Irving started to assert himself toward the end of the quarter and a driving layup put the C’s up 50-49 with less than a minute to play in the half. The teams went into the break tied 52-52. Irving led the Celtics with 14 points on 4-for-11 shooting, along with three assists. Tatum added 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 mark from the field. The Nets’ bench was key in them erasing the Celtics’ lead. Brooklyn’s second unit shot 9-for-19 from the floor and scored 21 points, led by a team-high nine from Caris LeVert. Boston’s bench scored just seven points.

CELTICS TAKE CONTROL The Nets forced the Celtics to take a timeout just 2:45 into the quarter after DeMarre Carroll got his own rebound and scored between two C’s players. The teams exchanged baskets through the first six minutes of the quarter. These teams combined for 11 turnovers in that stretch. An 8-0 run by the Celtics propelled them to a 69-65 lead. Defense was the difference, as the C’s forced two turnovers in that span and contested every Nets shot. The Celtics closed the quarter on a 23-6 run, which at one point grew their lead to a game-high 13 points at 80-67. The bench continued to struggle, shooting 2-for-18 through 36 minutes. Irving led the Celtics with 18 points entering the fourth. Horford added 17, while Brown and Tatum each poured in 14. LeVert led the Nets with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting.

SEAL THE DEAL The Nets opened the quarter on a 10-2 run to close within 82-81. But, just like that, the C’s went on an 8-0 run of their own to take a 90-81 lead. Morris led the way with four points and a rebound in that span, giving him 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting overall. He finished the game with a season-high 21 points, including 11 points in the fourth quarter. Morris also notched his first as a Celtic with 10 rebounds. The Nets stayed within single digits late for most of the fourth quarter, but six points from Irving and four from Tatum over the last four minutes finished off the win.

UP NEXT The Celtics return to TD Garden for a showdown with the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
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Masked man: Irving returns as Celtics win 13th straight

ESPNBOSTON

NEW YORK -- Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup and scored 25 points while wearing a mask, and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-102 on Tuesday night for their 13th straight victory.

The Celtics remained unbeaten since an 0-2 start heading into their showdown Thursday in Boston against the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

Marcus Morris added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum scored 19 points for the Celtics.

Irving missed one game with a minor facial fracture after he was hit by teammate Aron Baynes on Friday. He fiddled with the mask frequently, but it didn't seem to affect his play much. He made a jumper with 3:40 left after the Nets had closed within four points and drove for another basket about 35 seconds later.

Boston then finally put it away with Jaylen Brown's alley-oop feed to Tatum before Irving hit two free throws to make it 106-96.

Joe Harris scored 19 points and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who are without leading scorer D'Angelo Russell because of a bruised left knee. Allen Crabbe and Caris LeVert added 15 points apiece.

Irving has had to play in a mask before, and he's done it well. He scored a then career-high 41 points in a loss at New York on Dec. 15, 2012 while with Cleveland.

The Celtics started 7 of 9 from the field to lead 17-4, but the Nets jumped ahead in the second quarter and countered every time Boston threated to pull away until the final minutes.

TIP-INS

Celtics: Irving was not announced as a starter when lineups were introduced, even though coach Brad Stevens had said he would start, after an apparent mix-up between the coach and scorer's table. ... The Celtics have won six straight in Brooklyn, where they were cheered loudly and Irving even heard "MVP! MVP!" chants.

Nets: Brooklyn plays just four home games in November. Three are this week, and the Nets host Portland on Nov. 24 before going back on the road for three straight games. ... Coach Kenny Atkinson didn't put a timetable on Russell's return, saying he was getting daily updates. ... Rookie center Jarrett Allen returned after missing six games with a strained left foot.

MEXICAN FANS

Entertainers Diego Alfaro and Georgina Holguin from Mexico attended the game to help promote the Nets' upcoming games in Mexico City to their home fans. Brooklyn will play Miami and Oklahoma City in December.

UP NEXT

Celtics: Host Golden State on Thursday night.
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Celtics beat the Nets 109-102 to push winning streak to 13 games

NBC SPORTS BOSTON By A. Sherrod Blakely November 14, 2017 9:54 PM

Good teams. Bad teams. Scrappy teams.

You name the style a team plays, and the Boston Celtics will show you how to beat them.

Tuesday’s 109-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets was yet another chapter in the narrative about a Celtics team that has an uncanny, unshakable will to win regardless of the opponent.

Kyrie Irving, returning to the lineup after missing one game due to the facial fractured he suffered against Charlotte on Nov. 10, led all five Boston starters in double figures scoring, with 23 points and five assists.

The Nets (5-9) got 16 points apiece from Joe Harris and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Boston (13-2) has now won 13 in a row, the longest winning streak of the Brad Stevens era and the longest in the NBA this season.

Not only did Tuesday’s win keep the impressive streak alive, it has now set the table for what will be one of the more highly anticipated matchups you’ll find in the first month of the season with defending champion Golden State at the TD Garden on Thursday.

Boston’s winning streak has gotten a lot harder to keep going as of late. Boston came into Tuesday’s with three of its previous four victories being by three points or less.

That didn’t seem to be the case against the Nets who came in having lost five straight to Boston.

The Celtics opened the game with a 17-4 run before the Nets cut into the deficit to trail Boston 30-21 after the first quarter.

Boston’s second unit struggled to make shots most of the night so when they entered the game, the Celtics’ offense bogged down considerably which opened the door for the Nets to rally for a 52-all tie at the half.

The third quarter was much better for the Celtics, as they went on a 19-2 run to take control before settling in for an 80-71 lead going into the fourth.

Marcus Morris picked up a lot of the offensive slack early in the fourth to propel Boston to a 92-81 lead. He finished with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds.

But the Nets, as scrappy a team as you’ll find in the NBA, battled back and were within four points (95-91) with about four minutes to play.

However, Irving made it a two-possession game, 97-91, with a basket and on the ensuing possession, drove in for a lay-up that put Boston ahead 99-92.

From there, Boston did just enough to keep the Nets at bay as the attention quickly focused on arguably the most highly anticipated game of the season as Boston hosts Golden State on Thursday night.

112288

80 - 2 THE DREAM LIVES ON!

112288

The bench sucked tonight.  Appears that the team was looking beyond Brooklyn which always spells disaster.

Morris had a great game and is the power forward we have been missing....he can shoot....he can rebound.....and he's tough!

Larkin did a nice job settling the team down and scored a key bucket.

How about that kid Tatum.............a superstar in the making!

He is only 19.......and probably a few years of growth left ...at 6'8" he could go to 6' 10" and another Durant.

112288

Morris is tough, has better game than I thought, my bad thinking we didn't even need him, he adds a lot of intangibles and can shoot and create his own shot. I also love Theis, in hindsight he should have started, his defense and length would add quality to the starters and Morris can lead the 2nd unit. Kyrie with another routine dazzling effective game, in the scrum in the paint, he's fearless going after and getting key steals, routinely gets big needed buckets.

Jason and Jaylen doing it both ends, they are still growing, developing and with their reach, we have a 6'8" SG and a 6'9" SF that are 2 keys to this scrappy fearless D. Saw the Net coach in the post game and he said we had some good stretches moving the ball, but too much one on one when they went on cold stretches and against that team they have too much length and athleticism that you can't go one on one, they're too good. Yep he said something exactly like that.

Marcus Smart needs a sports psychologist, something is in his head, never seen his shooting and scoring this bad, and it's been going on for how many games? At this point I wish he could shoot as good as Tony Allen, that would work, and I didn't see the usual impact defensive plays either.

Cowans

You are right, Smart is a head case. I know he brings other intangibles but you need to hit shots once in a while. Not sure if they resign him next year or a dump towards the trading deadline.

112288

The Nets had 102 pts., thus scoring over and above what the the C's stingy defense usually allows. The Nets didn't look too shabby to me and they'll be even better when Russell and Lin return. It's a long way to the top, but they seem to be moving in the right direction - up, to be no longer a "sure win" for other teams. As was mentioned in the "Game On" thread, I think by worcester, "I'm glad we traded that Nets pick".

112288 wrote:Cowans

You are right, Smart is a head case.  I know he brings other intangibles but you need to hit shots once in a while.  Not sure if they resign him next year or a dump towards the trading deadline.

112288

agreed 112288, the way this team defends, I don't even think he's the best defender on this team....it's debatable. Tonight when he was on the floor with a lead, it kept on shrinking when he was on the floor. He was on the floor the night Devin Booker went off for 70 plus, tonight some guy I never seen or heard of Harris was scoring on him like nothing.

Hard to argue with a dirty dozen.

I think Danny needs to add a shooter/scorer for the bench.  

If we get a more consistent offensive production from the bench we could compete for the title this year.  

Dboss

Should have been a bigger win but I think they coasted for the first half.  Our defense awoke after halftime and only gave up 19 points in the 3rd but then took another nap in the 4th where they gave up 31.  

The Nets bench killed ours 38-13.  They shot 50%, the bench I mean, while ours shot 4-26 for 15.4%, lead by Brickmeister Marcus Smart's 1-8.  Confidence is an important thing in a professional athlete but how can he not know he sucks at that?  I love every other part of his game, although the rest of his game was not good last night, but his shooting is an abomination.  How can he not realize he offsets his good half court floor generalship with his shooting?  But it wasn't just him.  Rozier was 0-5 and Baynes was 0-4.  Baynes is normally pretty solid but TRo's season fg% is 35.2%.

Theis was 1-5 (he comes off the bench) but at least he grabbed 7 rebounds and had a block in just 11 minutes.  That is elite rebounding.

Fortunately our starters were on.  The bench shot 15.2% but our starters shot 58.3%.  Every starter shot over 50% except for Kyrie who shot 8-20, 40%.  Considering he started off 3-9, then 4-14, then 5-15 he rallied pretty well.  

Horford and Morris with double doubles.  Not surprised by Horford but a big game by Morris.  They were rallying, making it close, then he hit 3 mid-range shots and a 3 and effectively put the game away.  21 points for Morris on 8-12.

Jayson Tatum is growing up FAST.  19 points on only 9 shots, 3 steals and a block.  He overuses his right hand, that will be scouted and they will try to take it away from him in the 2nd half of this season, but right now he's getting to the rim with it.  I'll be the first to admit I'm shocked at how quickly he has adapted to the NBA game.  This kid was in High School 1 1/2 years ago.  One of the differences between Tatum and Brown that I've noticed is that when Jaylen Brown gets an offensive rebound inside with the big trees he goes up with the shot and is often stuffed or stripped.  Tatum doesn't try to force much.  In this way he is even more mature than Brown.  Maybe that's because he doesn't have the arrogance that comes with exceptional athleticism like Jaylen has and knows he has to be a little craftier?

The BIG test is tomorrow.  NOBODY will be looking past that game.


http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400974952


























bob


.

The offense could use some help off the bench. Struggling to find points is not going to bode well moving forward.

I expected Rozier and Smart to be more consistent than they have been. Theis and Semi have struggled also but that's understandable considering their roles.


KJ

k_j_88 wrote:The offense could use some help off the bench. Struggling to find points is not going to bode well moving forward.

I expected Rozier and Smart to be more consistent than they have been. Theis and Semi have struggled also but that's understandable considering their roles.


KJ

Agree but at least Theis had 7 rebounds and a block.

The Warriors will present a serious challenge because their bench is pretty good.