It was déjà vu for the Boston Celtics: staring down a fourth-quarter deficit against a Brooklyn Nets squad that’s been scraping the bottom of the NBA barrel this season. Just days earlier, on Tuesday, the C’s had clawed their way out of a similar mess in Brooklyn, storming back for a double-digit victory. But Friday night at TD Garden? That was a brutal reality check.
In a jaw-dropping upset, the Celtics crumbled under pressure, falling 113-105 to the lottery-bound Nets. The loss plummeted Boston to a mediocre 8-8 record overall and a dismal 1-2 in NBA Cup group play, effectively slamming the door on their knockout round hopes. Meanwhile, Brooklyn clawed their way to a rare 3-12 mark, savoring every bit of this improbable triumph.
Jaylen Brown was the Celtics’ beacon of hope, dropping a team-high 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting, while hauling in eight rebounds, dishing four assists, and swiping two steals. But disaster struck midway through the fourth when he picked up his fifth foul, sidelining him at the worst possible moment—and watching helplessly as his team imploded without him.
Anfernee Simons stepped up valiantly in support, pouring in 23 points on an efficient 10-of-16 from the field. Neemias Queta delivered a gritty double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, anchoring the paint. Yet, Derrick White endured a nightmare outing, scraping together just six points on a woeful 2-of-13 shooting, including a frigid 1-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Echoing their sluggish start from Tuesday’s clash at Barclays Center, the Celtics once again stumbled out of the gate against an outmatched foe. This time, it wasn’t turnovers plaguing them—they didn’t cough up their first until the second quarter—but ice-cold shooting. Boston bricked 15 of their initial 20 field goals, including a barrage of point-blank misses from Queta, Brown, and Luka Garza. Payton Pritchard (13 points) ignited a spark, draining three of his four first-quarter triples to erase an early seven-point hole. Brown and Garza chipped in threes as the C’s capped the period with a scorching 11-0 surge.
Embed X: https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1992041530098438551
The Nets fired back in the second, unleashing an 11-2 blitz while Brown and Pritchard cooled on the bench. Simons answered the call, splashing consecutive threes—one off a Derrick White free-throw miss—to breathe life back into Boston. Moments later, he threaded a pinpoint entry pass to Queta, who unleashed a thunderous one-handed poster dunk over Nets big man Noah Clowney, followed by a piercing stare-down that electrified the crowd.
Simons wasn’t done dazzling, throwing down a rim-rattling transition dunk of his own later in the half—only his second slam of the season for the 2021 Slam Dunk Contest champ.
But as halftime loomed, the Celtics’ old demons resurfaced: sloppy play that had doomed them just three nights prior. After a tidy three turnovers in the first 21-plus minutes, they hemorrhaged three more in the final 2:28—a Simons miscue, an offensive foul on Pritchard, and a boneheaded giveaway by Josh Minott, intercepted by Egor Demin with 7.2 seconds left.
Clowney cashed in at the other end, punctuating an 11-2 Nets run that handed Brooklyn a commanding 62-53 halftime edge. Minott paid the price, glued to the bench until the game’s dying seconds.
Brown erupted for nine quick points in the third quarter’s opening minutes, keeping Boston afloat. But fate intervened cruelly: his fifth foul came on a controversial swipe at Terrance Mann’s face during a drive. Coach Joe Mazzulla’s challenge fell flat, and a furious Brown stormed to the bench, hurling a towel in frustration.
Queta soon joined him in foul peril with his fourth, leaving two key starters compromised with over 17 minutes remaining. The Nets pounced, exploding for a devastating 19-4 run that ballooned their lead to 92-77 heading into the fourth.
Desperate for a jolt, Mazzulla turned to rookie firecracker Hugo Gonzalez, who’d been a spectator for the first three quarters and a DNP in the prior two games. He also brought back Queta, Boston’s standout big man this season. That unit mounted a spirited 9-2 push, fueled by Queta’s two putbacks and five from Simons, setting the stage for Brown’s return at the 7:47 mark. Simons, meanwhile, logged a grueling 17 straight minutes across the third and fourth.
Brown wasted no time, drawing an offensive foul, firing an outlet to Walsh off a Simons steal, and driving for a layup that trimmed the deficit to 96-90. His next rim attack rimmed out, but Walsh swooped in for a thunderous putback dunk, pulling Boston within two.
Alas, that was the peak. Clutch threes from Demin and Michael Porter Jr., plus a pair of Porter slams, sealed the Nets’ getaway.
The defeat wrapped up a soft patch in Boston’s schedule—their last four foes boasted a combined 11-34 record entering Friday. Now, the gauntlet awaits: Orlando (Sunday, home), Detroit (Wednesday, home), Minnesota (next Saturday, road), Cleveland (next Sunday, road), and New York (Tuesday, Dec. 2, home).
After a brief breather against the lowly Wizards on Dec. 4, the C’s host LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and the star-studded Lakers on a back-to-back Friday, followed by a trip to the surging Raptors on Dec. 7.
Detroit, Toronto, New York, and Cleveland dominated the East’s top four spots entering Friday, while L.A. held fourth in the West at 11-4, with Minnesota at 10-6 two slots behind. Orlando’s heating up, winners of four of five and eight of 11. These powerhouses feature seven All-NBA talents from last season, plus scoring king Doncic in his debut Lakers campaign.
This brutal slate will expose Boston’s true mettle. With the league’s eighth-best net rating pre-loss and superstar Jayson Tatum sidelined by injury, are the Celtics a scrappy underdog ready to scrap in the wide-open East? Or does a chasm separate them from the elite they’re about to battle?