Boston Celtics

The Nets staged the biggest comeback in the NBA this season, roaring back from 28 points down in the second quarter to defeat the Celtics.

The Nets outscored the Celtics 40-27 in the second quarter and kept it up in the second half – they outscored Boston 34-20 in the third quarter and 26-21 in the fourth. The Nets began their comeback with 7:11 to go in the second quarter. … We just kept and stayed together.” “They beat us in every analytical category possible,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. Boston's Jaylen Brown had a team-high 35. [Mikal Bridges](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/02/24/phoenix-suns-kevin-durant-trade-brooklyn-nets-mikal-bridges-laugh/11343767002/), whom the Nets acquired from the Phoenix Suns in the Kevin Durant trade, led the way with a game-high 38 points.

There's not much to say about the state of Brooklyn basketball right now. They head into Friday nights game against the Celtics carrying a 4-game losing ...

It’s a big ask for a player joining a new team in the back half of the season and with no practice time to play a new position, but that’s the position the Nets find themselves in. Clax has been great, but the team hasn’t been able to complete possessions and snag rebounds to get out in transition and attack. The current plan with Simmons out is to have Dorian Finney-Smith as backup center, but this is the most he’s ever played at center in his career. The Nets don’t have a suitable backup big man, and that is a failing of management at the trade deadline. He’s still been excellent and has taken the challenge of contesting anything in his orbit. When you’re comfortable with a team and city, why leave?

With 7:23 to play in the second quarter, Jaylen Brown hit a layup to put the Celtics up 51-23. Over the remainder of the game, the Nets outscored the Celtics 92 ...

In moments like that, when the other team starts to play well and changes their mindset, we just have to adjust to the environment. Nothing summed that up better than the final sequence, when the Celtics botched a simple inbounds play, which led to a buzzer-beating layup for The Celtics, for whatever reason, were never able to regain their focus or their intensity. The 28-point turnaround was also the largest comeback in Nets franchise history. As many teams with big leads tend to do, the Celtics took their foot off the gas and lost focus, and the Nets took advantage. But instead of cruising to another comfortable win against an Eastern Conference opponent, they were booed off the floor a few hours later after an embarrassing 115-105 defeat.

BOSTON (AP) Mikal Bridges was considered a defensive star and complementary offensive player in Phoenix before abruptly having his five-year run there ended ...

Bridges had 15 points in the period. He’s only the 11th active player to reach that plateau. “I think when I got traded it was kind of at the right time because when everybody was out in Phoenix I had to take up another role offensively and be more aggressive,” Bridges said. After his milestone was announced to the TD Garden crowd, he capped the ensuing possession with a 3-pointer to put Boston in front 16-5. But Finney-Smith answered with a triple of his own on the Nets’ next possession. It contributed to the Nets putting Boston in the bonus at the 8:48 mark of the opening quarter. Nets: Outscored the Celtics 40-27 in the second quarter, shooting 65% (15 of 23) from the field. During one wild sequence, the Nets secured four offensive rebounds and had five shots on a single possession before the Celtics were finally able to corral the ball, triggering a fast break and layup by Derrick White. Celtics: Finished with 19 turnovers, leading to 21 Brooklyn points. Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said Ben Simmons began experiencing some back soreness this week while starting to increase his activity to strengthen the sore left knee that has kept him sidelined since the All-Star break restart. 1, went just 9 of 30 from beyond the arc on Friday. “They beat us in every analytical category possible,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

The Celtics look to sweep the season series from the Nets as they look for their second straight win.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics have to come out and be aggressive right from the opening tip. They have to focus on playing team ball and not on the officiating. The Celtics have played well at home with a 25-7 record at the TD Garden. They have to focus on making good passes and not turning the ball over. They can’t score without the ball and it will take extra effort on their part to beat the Nets on the boards. The Nets are 17-4 when they out-rebound their opponents so the Celtics have to put out extra effort to get to beat the Nets on the boards. The Nets are a good offensive team and are 2nd in field goal percentage at 49.8% and second with a 3 point percentage of 38.7%. The Nets have lost 6 straight to the Celtics and 10 straight if you include the playoffs. He shot 52.2% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. He is shooting 47.0% from the field and 39.7% from beyond the arc. The Celtics won the first game 103-92 in Brooklyn on December 4 and they won the second meeting 109-98, also in Brooklyn, on January 12. The Celtics are playing in their second game of a 3 game home stand.