The Boston Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets 116-95. The Nets did not have it tonight. They came out hot hitting their first four threes, and then things went downhill. The Nets were outscored 30-10 for the rest of the quarter, and came out flat at the start of the second quarter. The Nets did cut the lead down to 9 at the half and then 5 in the third, but they never had enough to get them over the hump. Every time the Nets scored, the Celtics matched them. The Nets cared more about resting their players, as D’Angelo and Dinwiddie were left on the bench for the majority of the 4th quarter. If the Nets cared about winning this game Theo Pinson, Kenneth Faried, and Treveon Graham would not have been playing in crunch time. I don’t necessarily hate Kenny Atkinson’s game plan for today’s game because rest is key and the Nets still have 2 more games to play this week. DeMarre Carroll and Joe Harris both did not play due to injury (more rest than injury), so Kenny realized that the Nets could not win this game on the second half of a road back to back. The Nets will take on the Celtics at full strength next Monday.

Rodinos Kurucs led the Nets with 24 points on 8-15 shooting including 5-8 shooting from three. Kurcus is proving game in and game out that he is the steal of the draft. Kurucs was the 40th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and has shown that he should’ve been a first round pick. Sean Marks used his experience with the San Antonio Spurs to draft Kurcus, a European who barely played in Barcelona last year. Kurucs is also locked up for the next 3 years at just $6.6 million. Kurucs has a very good three pointer and he can also beat you one on one because of his length. Kurucs will be one of the focal points of the Nets for years to come. Spencer Dinwiddie also had a nice game with 15 points. Kenneth Faried provided a spark off the bench, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Faried has recorded two straight double doubles in games that he was gotten rotation minutes in, and he has shown that he still has stuff left in the tank. Faried could see himself enter the rotation with the Rondae Holis-Jefferson injury, and the poor play of Treveon Graham. Lastly, Ed Davis finished a rebound away from a double double with 11 points and 9 rebounds.

The starters led the way for the Celtics, as every starter finished with double digit points. Kyrie Irving had 17 points and 6 assists on 8-16 shooting in his first game back from injury. Irving had missed the prior 2 games due to an eye injury, but he returned to lead the Celtics to victory. Marcus Smart, 12 points 7 assists and 4 rebounds, had a good first half shooting the three. Lastly, Jason Tatum finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Celtics matched every run the Nets made today, and forced the Nets to make stupid turnovers.

What’s Next?

The Nets return home to face the Hawks on Wednesday, while the Celtics remain home to face the Pacers on Wednesday.

#WeGoHard