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Brooklyn Nets brick their way to well-fought loss against Boston Celtics, 104-96

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Brooklyn Nets v Boston Celtics
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

Though they played well, missed shot after missed shot sunk the Brooklyn Nets. But so did Baylor Scheierman. That hurts.

Another sweat. It was guaranteed as soon as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were ruled out with injuries on Tuesday evening, prior to the Brooklyn Nets’ rematch with the Boston Celtics.

On Saturday, Brooklyn lost to Boston by a possession at Barclays Center, just before beating the Atlanta Hawks the following day. All told, Brooklyn hasn’t seen a double-digit loss in their last seven games. The tank is trudging along, but on perilously thin ice.

Brooklyn didn’t hang with the reigning champs, still fielding a strong roster, the same way they had on Saturday night. In that one, the Nets shot 20-of-46 from three to come back from a 21-point deficit , while Boston feasted on Nic Claxton’s absence by playing huge lineups, scoring 52 points in the paint. Size vs. speed, and size won.

On Monday night, the Nets steadily led the Celtics throughout the first half. They were just solid, and though Kristaps Porzingis raced out to a fast start by posting up switches, Brooklyn’s off-ball defenders eventually figured it out…

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Protecting both the paint and the arc was no small feat, even with Brown and Tatum out. Boston missed some clean ones, sure, but the Nets were there on the majority of catches, their perimeter defenders often one rotation ahead of the ball.

It was Brooklyn’s bench that separated themselves, building a game-high nine point lead. Day’Ron Sharpe made play after play in just 19 minutes, including this highlight sequence…

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“Coach subs a guy in, and that guy comes in and makes up for whatever the guy coming off the floor did,” explained D’Angelo Russell at halftime.

On a night when Cam Johnson couldn’t really get his game off, shooting 4-of-9 for 11 points, Russell tried to take over, with 18/5/7. And in the second half, he tried to bend the game to his will, looking for his shot off ball-screens like it was 2019 again.

Problem is, he shot just 6-of-18, as the whole offense died a painful death. They only had nine turnovers all game, but just couldn’t score the rock. The Nets shot just 5-of-20 from deep in the second half, while Porzingis walled off the paint much more effectively than in the first half.

Credit to Brooklyn’s bench again, which kept TD Garden anxious, particularly when Porzingis sat. Tyrese Martin and Sharpe each scored nine points, while Trendon Watford led the reserves with 11 points and four assists, another strong game as backup point guard. (Of note: Jalen Wilson fell behind Maxwell Lewis to 11th in the rotation.)

And yet, they were all outdone by Celtics reserve Baylor Scheierman, the final first-round pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. Scheierman, who could practically be a mascot for the team, scored 17 of his career-high 20 points in the second half, including a foreboding buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter…

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The place went berserk, only going crazier in the fourth quarter as Boston shot 5-of-12 for three, at last breaking the dam open. On the other end, Brooklyn just kept missing. Was there anything for Jordi Fernández to change?

“No, I trust the guys. I want them to keep shooting, and I want them to keep getting to the free-throw line, keep getting to the rim and keep finding catch-and-shoot threes. So, they did that.”

Every loss in Boston is infuriating, but especially this one, as Brooklyn didn’t make many objectionable plays. Or maybe it’s the perfect tank loss. Good process, unfortunate results.

Let Fernández explain: “We took good shots, 45 threes. It just, you know, didn’t go in. And you know, they shot. 44% from the field, 33% from three, only five second-chance for points for them to our 13. So as big as they are, we won that battle. We lost by one on points off turnovers. We created more turnovers, we just didn’t score enough out of it. So if you look at the numbers, I’m happy with the way we played and completed all the way through the game.”

There’s just not much else to say about this one, nor about a season that now has just 13 games left. Brooklyn plays hard, every game features a new hero, or almost-hero, and they seem to have hired the right head coach. Take out of it what you can get, and then pray for some ping-pong balls.

Final Score: Boston Celtics 104, Brooklyn Nets 96

Kyle Hines honored

For those unfamiliar with Kyle Hines, the 38-year-old American is one of the EuroLeague’s all-time greats. He was recognized as such on Tuesday afternoon, named to their All-25 team, voted on by media, coaches. fans, and players.

Hines, who retired just last season, is now a player development assistant for the Brooklyn Nets, who celebrated his accomplishment in a post…

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Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images

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