Power Has Shifted as Brooklyn Nets Defeat Boston Celtics in a Barometer Game

In the words of the great Sam Cooke, "It's been a long, a long time coming. But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will."

That can describe the feeling in the NBA right now as the Brooklyn Nets, who not too long ago won 12 games in an entire season, defeated the Boston Celtics for the second time to remain atop the Atlantic division.

This was a barometer game for the Nets and they proved something with a win. 

Right off the bat it seemed as if the Celtics were gonna bring high energy. They jumped off to an early lead, and the Nets could have easily just coasted. Instead, the New Jersey went on a run, sparked by two three-pointers from Joe Johnson.

After the first quarter, the Nets led 28-20 and would not trail after that.

The biggest story from the night was the brawl that started after a Kris Humphries foul on Kevin Garnett. Celtics point guard, Rajon Rondo, wanted a little retaliation and started shoving the Nets forward towards the crowd.

This caused members of both teams to go in and try and break up the fight. It also caused a little scuffle between Garnett and Gerald Wallace. Garnett started swinging at Wallace, who was just trying to separate the pile like everyone else.

After the refs looked over the situation on replay, they gave Wallace a technical foul, which was his second of the game and led to his ejection. Kris Humphries and Rondo were also ejected while Garnett only picked up a technical. 

The end result of this fight is Rondo and Garnett looking even more like punks and the Nets getting a little team chemistry builder.

The Nets were led by Joe Johnson ,who had 18 points and six assists, and Andray Blatche, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds.

The top "dog" in the Atlantic division over the last few years has been the Celtics. That definitely seems to be changing with the way the Knicks and the Nets have played this season.

The Nets completely dominated the Celtics in this game, which seemed almost impossible over the last few seasons .This is probably the first real glimpse at the power being shifted in the NBA.

There is no arguing that there is something going on in Brooklyn!