Nets Fall to Celtics, Drop 9th Straight Game Amid James Harden Trade Rumors

The Boston Celtics jumped out to a 28-2 lead en route to a 126-91 road win over the short-handed Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Tuesday.

The C's faced a Nets team missing James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, Nic Claxton and LaMarcus Aldridge.

They took advantage and started the game with two 14-0 runs buffered by a Blake Griffin bucket. The Nets stopped the bleeding and cut the lead to as little as 13 points, but the C's ran away from Brooklyn and took a 69-43 halftime edge.

Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart co-led the Celtics with 22 points, and Robert Williams III dominated the paint with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Jayson Tatum added 19 points.

For the Nets, Jevon Carter stayed hot from distance, hitting seven three-pointers en route to 21 points off the bench. James Johnson and Cam Thomas each contributed 17 points.

The 31-25 Celtics have now won six straight games.

The 29-25 Nets have lost nine in a row as their skid continues in light of rumors that the team could trade Harden before the Thursday deadline. Nets head coach Steve Nash told reporters Sunday that the team has no plans to deal him.

---

Notable Performances

Celtics G Jaylen Brown: 22 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds

Celtics G Marcus Smart: 22 points

Celtics F Jayson Tatum: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

Celtics C Robert Williams III: 12 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks

Nets G Jevon Carter: 21 points

Nets F James Johnson: 17 points, 5 assists

Nets G Cam Thomas: 17 points, 5 rebounds

---

Celtics Take Care of Business

The story of this Celtics season has changed over the course of two weeks.

A team that once sat with a 25-25 record has won six straight and now resides just 4.5 games behind the Miami Heat for first place in the Eastern Conference.

Boston is finally playing up to the potential it's shown in the past, with Tatum and Brown's efforts buoyed by an emerging star center in Williams and a jack-of-all-trades in Smart.

Veteran center Al Horford's improved play and Dennis Schroder's efforts off the bench have significantly helped as well.

The Celtics entered Tuesday on a five-game winning streak during which they outscored their opponents by 17.8 points per matchup.

Granted, the competition hasn't been great (e.g., the NBA-worst Orlando Magic, a Miami Heat team missing Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler), but the Celtics are doing what they're supposed to—crush inferior competition and climb up the NBA standings.

All five C's starters made big contributions.

Horford excellent on the defensive end, stuffing this DeAndre' Bembry effort:

Brown did a great job finding his teammates, spotting a cutting Williams for an easy two:

Brown took care of business himself, though, slicing through Nets defenders for his own buckets:

Meanwhile, Tatum took advantage of some sloppy Nets offense to cap the Celtics' 28-2 run:

The bench did its part, too, with Schroder catching a Horford pass to score two of his 11 points in 19 minutes.

The Celtics' excellent passing was on full display, with Brown drawing in the defense and finding Williams in the second quarter:

Defense kept turning into offense, with Josh Richardson coming off the bench for a second-quarter steal and a feed to Williams for a transition slam:

The C's are firing on all cylinders up and down the rotation, and it's turning into some remarkable dominance, as noted by Boston play-by-play sportscaster Sean Grande:

Ultimately, the Celtics are getting hot at the right time as the All-Star Break nears.

---

Nets Struggle Without Key Pieces

There simply aren't many positives to take away from this game for the Nets, nor are there many takeaways at all given that this team looked nothing like the one general manager Sean Marks hoped to put on the floor.

Brooklyn was missing six of its seven top scorers, its top three assist leaders and the top five rebounders.

Naturally, the task was tough against a scorching-hot Celtics team with aspirations of finally fulfilling the championship potential this team has possessed in recent years.

Ultimately, the Celtics won this one by first-round knockout after its 28-2 start, but the remaining Nets deserve credit for preventing this game from getting much worse outside a late flurry from Boston in garbage time.

On the plus side, Carter stayed hot. He entered the game hitting six of 11 three-pointers in his last four contests and is now shooting 54.1 percent from deep over his past five.

Johnson continued to show why he's a valuable veteran piece off the bench, pouring in 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. And Thomas continues to impress as a rookie, averaging 22.3 points per game in his last three.

These are ultimately small silver linings in what's rapidly appearing to be a lost season for a Nets team that unfortunately has been unable to stay on the court at the same time, but that's all Brooklyn can take away at this juncture as the losing streak continues.

---

What's Next?

The Nets will visit the Washington Wizards on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. The C's will welcome the Denver Nuggets into town on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.