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The Boston Celtics raced out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back as they soundly defeated the Nets 115-85 in Brooklyn tonight.
"The Celtics have been a great defensive team for years." said Celtics guard Jason Terry "Why should we stop now?"
Indeed, the Celtics' defense, paced by Courtney Lee's four steals, bedeviled the Nets' ballhandlers all night. The Nets committed 18 turnovers, (led by Deron Williams' six) many of which led to easy Boston buckets.
The Nets trailed 73-51 in the 3rd quarter, but a 10-0 run - sparked by the lineup of Williams, Taylor, Johnson, Wallace and Lopez - got Brooklyn within striking range. But Terry then took over, canning three 4th quarter treys to send the proceedings to garbage time and the Celtics to an easy victory.
The Celtics shot 57 percent overall and 11-for-18 from three-point range. The Nets, on the other hand, shot just 37 percent and 6-for-21 from three.
Joe Johnson said his team needed a bit of a wake-up call. "If you ask me, it was necessary.," said the Nets guard. "We needed that. Preseason has been kind of a breeze a little bit."
The loss added a new dimension to the Nets move to Brooklyn: teams wanting to do well in the NBA's newest venue...and attack the franchise's new hype.
Said Kris Humphries: “This is a big stage and people are coming in trying to prove a point."
Avery Johnson was even more pointed, as Stefan Bondy reported: "No matter what documentaries and books are being written about us this year, everybody's not excited, everybody's not impressed. "
Quick Notes:
Paul Pierce rolled his ankle in the second quarter when he landed on Gerald Wallace's foot. He got the ankle re-wrapped and returned in the second half.
Marshon Brooks played a little over 15 minutes in his preseason debut. He scored 7 points on 3-6 shooting. Defense, as with the rest of the team, was a work in progress.
For the second time in two pre-season games, the Nets drew more than 14,000 fans to Barclays Center. The Nets didn't average 14,000 fans in regular season their last three years in New Jersey.
The Nets played 15 players. Keith Bogans, Jerry Stackhouse and C.J. Watson sat out.