The Nets saw their season-high three-game win streak come crashing to an end in a woeful 110-97 defeat to the Celtics in their final game of the season.
Brooklyn has made plenty of strides this season, winning eight more games than the 2016-17 campaign, but Wednesday night’s performance sent the team a humbling reminder: There are no easy games in the NBA.
The Celtics sat all of their starters and largely used fringe players and still managed to dominate the Nets, who had several key members of their rotation playing. Some familiar issues came back to haunt Brooklyn at the TD Garden. The team was outrebounded by the hosts 62-45, was outscored in the paint 64-50, and gave away 16 turnovers.
Aron Baynes powered Boston’s commanding performance with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Nik Stauskas scored 18 points and added four rebounds to lead the Nets.
Here are Three Observations:
Nets Creep Back Into Bad Habits
During the Nets three-game win streak, they appeared to address several issues that hurt them in losses. They improved defensively, especially on the boards, and the moved the ball well. On Wednesday night, they struggled in those areas.
The team was sloppy with the ball and dominated in the frontcourt, which is inexcusable considering that Boston’s starters haven’t played much together. Brooklyn’s inability to find any cohesion offensively was evident by their struggles on the floor – shooting just 40.7 percent (27.5 percent from downtown).
Sauce Castillo Shines
There weren’t many positives in Brooklyn’s performance, but Stauskas’ confident performance was a highlight.
The fourth-year guard has had inconsistent playing time throughout his time with the Nets, so it is to his credit that he continues to fight hard when given opportunities. The 24-year-old’s was assertive from the minute he checked in and helped Brooklyn try to rally back from 23 points down.
At one point when Brooklyn made a 7-0 rally in the fourth quarter, Stauskas came in thundering down the lane for a fierce slam over two Celtics defenders.
It’s plays like that show he is a potentially-effective scorer in the NBA.
Jarrett Allen’s Swat Streak Continues
Fortunately for P.J. Brown, his franchise record of 16 games with at least one block as a rookie remains as the NBA regular season came to an end on Wednesday. Still, Allen definitely made his mark with yet another game with at least one block, extending his streak to 14 games.
Though Allen struggled defensively against Baynes, he remained efficient on the offensive end – scoring 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting and added seven rebounds. The center also finished with the highest field goal percentage of any Nets rookie at 58.9 percent.