The Nets' winning streak came to an end with a 96-92 loss to the Celtics at the Prudential Center Thursday night. Behind 13 points from Brook Lopez, the Nets led 28-19 after the first quarter, but the Celtics' bench outscored them 37-26 in the second and Boston took control with a 9-2 run to start the third.
The Nets came back and tied the game on a Jordan Farmar three with a minute to go in the fourth, but Marquis Daniels answered with a three for the Celtics. The Nets had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Anthony Morrow stepped out of bounds before he could get a shot off. None of the Celtic starters and only two of the Net starters were on the floor at the end of the game.
In spite of getting into a fender-bender near the Lincoln Tunnel before the game, Lopez led all scorers with 23 points, getting to the line 15 times. Terrence Williams added 17 points and five assists off the bench. But Devin Harris did not do much in his 17 minutes, while Morrow and Travis Outlaw combined to shoot just 6-for-19 from the field. With a Nuggets scout in attendance, Derrick Favors made just one of his six shots and finished with three points, four rebounds and a block before fouling out in 24 minutes. Adrian Wojnarowski tweets despite the presence of Mike Bratz, "no new movement on a possible deal for Carmelo Anthony." After making 15 of their 28 threes in their first two preseason games, the Nets hit went just 5-for-18 from beyond the arc and shot just 40 percent from the field overall.
In post-game interviews, Avery Johnson, Doc Rivers and Shaq all had positive things to say about Lopez, with O'Neal telling writers, "He is like Tim Duncan. Classy guy. You'll never hear a bad word about him. Great player."
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Boxscore - ESPN
- Celtics win second in as many nights on late three-pointer by Daniels - Tom Canavan - AP
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Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- In limited time against Celtics starters, Nets still fall 96-92 in preseason game - Conor Orr - Star-Ledger
- Shaq calls Brook Lopez 'classy guy,' Derrick Favors talks about lessons learned - Conor Orr - Star-Ledger
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D'Alessandro: Celtics refuse to fade away - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Nets will learn from this game - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
- Lopez stars in Nets’ loss - Al Iannazzone - In the 'Zzone
- Nets missed Lawrence Frank - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Garnett teaches Favors a lesson - Brian Lewis
- Favors runs afoul again - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Lopez involved in car accident on his way to the game, still starting - Stefan Bondy - The InterNets
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Shaq talks about Amar'e posing naked - Stefan Bondy - The InterNets
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Shaq compares B.Lopez to T.Duncan - Chris Sheridan - ESPN New York
- First impressions: Celtics 96, Nets 92 - Boston Celtics Blog - Chris Forsberg - ESPN Boston
- Marquis Daniels back in his groove - Chris Forsberg - ESPN Boston
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Postgame notes: Delonte's back flares up - Chris Forsberg - ESPN Boston
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Glen Davis, second-unit mates cut down Nets - Steve Bulpett - Boston Herald
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Celtics Bench Helps Grind Out Preseason Victory Over Nets - Evans Clinchy - NECN
- Celtics bench steps up in 96-92 win over Nets - A. Sherrod Blakely - NECN
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West ready to do it all for C's - A. Sherrod Blakely - CSNNE
- Daniels An Early Bright Spot - Jeff Clark - Celtics Blog
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More Notes from the Nets Game - Tom Halczak - Celtics Blog
- Morrow Shooting for Allen's Achievements - Ben Couch - New Jersey Nets
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Photo Gallery - Nets vs. Celtics - Bill Kostroun - AP