Nets 87, Celtics 96

Game Highlights

Photo of the Game

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce sit side-by-side as they watch a portion of Friday night's game together from the bench.
Brian Banineau/NBAE/Getty

By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com

Key Moment

No one expected this one to be close throughout, but it was and there wasn't a whole lot the Celtics could do about it. The New Jersey Nets played their hearts out tonight for three quarters, but the Celtics were too much for them when all was said and done.

Boston finished off their opponent in the fourth quarter for the third straight game, this time with the help of a hot hand from Eddie House and a quick 5-0 spurt in the final minutes of the game. House dropped all 10 of his points in the early moments of fourth quarter to give the Celtics an initial burst of momentum, but the biggest swing of the game came moments after Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins checked back in with 2:40 remaining and the C's up by four.

Immediately following those substitutions, Rajon Rondo drove down the left side of the lane and dropped off a dime to Perkins for an easy layup. On the ensuing Nets possession, Perk played outstanding defense on Brook Lopez and knocked the ball free. Jarvis Hayes recovered it and had to force up a quick shot over Perk that missed long and fell into the hands of Garnett. After Rondo drove the ball up court after the outlet pass, he found Ray Allen spotted up behind the 3-point line and dropped a pass off to him. Allen, who finished with a game-high 26 points, rose up and nailed the three to put the C's up by nine with exactly 2:00 remaining in the game.

New Jersey hit a three on their next possession, but that's as close as they got and their 45th loss of the season was added to their resume.

Key Box Score Line

In only 33 minutes of playing time, Ray Allen lit the Nets up for a game-high 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting. On top of that, he tied for the team-high in rebounds with seven. It was Allen's top scoring night since putting up 27 against the Bobcats on Dec. 1.

Box Score Nuggets

• Ray Allen scored a game-high 26 points.
• All five starters for New Jersey scored in double-figures, led bby Brook Lopez's 19.
• The game featured 27 lead changes and 14 ties.
• The teams combined to shoot 10-of-31 from 3-point range (5-of-15 for the C's, 5-of-16 for the Nets).
• After scoring 55 points in the first half, New Jersey was limited to 43 in the second half.
• Four Celtics starters played 33 minutes or less, but Rajon Rondo played nearly 44 minutes.
• Boston racked up 26 assists compared to only 15 turnovers.
• Eddie House scored 10 points in the game, all in the fourth quarter.
• Boston's bench scored 32 points, compared to 19 by the Nets' reserves.
• No New Jersey player grabbed more than six rebounds, and the team pulled down only 33 as a whole.
• Three Celtics players grabbed at least six rebounds, led by Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins' seven. Kevin Garnett pulled in six.
• Rasheed Wallace recorded five assists off the bench.

Quote of the Night

Kevin Garnett on Boston's intensity level: "Tonight we needed to come out with that killer mentality to destroy them the first half. I thought that collectively as the quarters went on, we increased the intensity defensively. We pretty much got what we wanted on offense. When we started the game, we didn't come out with that energy to get them out of here."