A sizzling D'Angelo Russell led the Brooklyn Nets on a third-quarter blitz as they hung 44 points on the Boston Celtics in the period on the way to a 109-102 win at Barclays Center.
The surge gave the Nets a 24-point lead going into the fourth quarter and they stretched that advantage as high as 27 points in the fourth.
Brooklyn shot 17-for-26 in the third quarter, including 6-for-13 from 3-point range. Leading the way was Russell, who put up 18 points in the period while shooting 7-for-11 and 4-6 from 3-point range. He finished up with 34 points while shooting 13-for-26 and 7-for-13 from 3-point range with seven assists and five rebounds.
It was the seventh time in his last eight games that Russell topped 20 points, a stretch that began with a 33-point night in Charlotte on Dec. 29.
Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds plus four blocks and Rodions Kurucs also had 19. DeMarre Carroll grabbed 14 rebounds to go with 10 points and Joe Harris added 13 points plus eight rebounds.
Brooklyn limited Boston to 40.7 percent shooting overall, including 30.6 percent from 3-point range.
The Nets took a one-point lead at halftime behind 15 first-half points from Russell.
The Brooklyn point guard came out fast, opening the game with a 3-pointer and putting up 10 points in the first quarter. His 3-pointer with just under two minutes to go in the quarter put the Nets up 25-21, and after an Ed Davis putback, they took a 27-25 lead into the second quarter.
A Russell drive was followed by a pass to a rolling Davis for the finish and a 31-25 Brooklyn lead early in the second quarter before a 14-5 Boston run had the Celtics up 39-36 midway through the quarter.
Trailing 41-38, the Nets got a rebound basket from Allen and a 3-pointer from Harris for a 43-41 lead. A deep Spencer Dinwiddie 3-pointer beat the shot clock for a 46-42 Nets lead before Jayson Tatum scored the half's final three points for Boston to make it a 46-45 game at halftime.
The Nets were up 61-59 midway through the third quarter when they took over the game with a decisive 15-0 run. Russell's two 3-pointers capped the burst and gave Brooklyn a 76-59 lead, but the Nets were far from done.
After Terry Rozier got Boston back on the board, the Nets followed with another seven straight on a Carroll 3-pointer, a Dinwiddie drive and Russell's fallaway jumper for a 22-point bulge.
A Kurucs 3-pointer put the Nets up 88-64, and when the rookie tipped in Carroll's airball trying to beat the buzzer, Brooklyn had a 90-66 lead going into the fourth.
UP NEXT
The Nets visit Houston on Wednesday and Orlando on Friday before hosting the Sacramento Kings in afternoon game back at Barclays Center next Monday.