This time, the Nets had to face Jaylen Brown.
And a fully engaged salty Boston team.
The result of this rematch was predictable, the Nets suffering a 139-114 loss at the hands of the reigning champions before a sellout crowd of 18,112 at Barclays Center.
After blowing a fourth-quarter lead last Friday in TD Garden — falling in overtime to the Brown-less Celtics — Wednesday was no heartbreaker. It was more of a hard-earned lesson in just how far the Nets have to go.
“Our effort and focus has got to be elite,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez warned. “Obviously, this team comes from a loss [Tuesday] night, and you know what usually happens, right? A team loses and comes back the next game — especially champions — come back and they want to make a statement. So, we have to be ready for that, have to be ready to play extremely hard.
“Our effort, like I said, and then focus, trying to be better than we were a few days ago against them. I thought our game was pretty good. Obviously made mistakes, turn the ball over, didn’t run in the second half and ran out of gas a little bit. But I was happy with the effort, with the competitive level. And again, another opportunity against a very good team to be better.”
The Celtics — likely motivated after a stinging 117-116 loss to Atlanta the night before — didn’t come to play. They came to win.
Jayson Tatum’s game-high 36 points and 10 assists, and Brown’s 24 points, 12 rebounds and stingy defense ensured they did.
“Jaylen Brown? When I was there he didn’t play no defense. And right now he is checking the best player every single time. It doesn’t matter if it’s Luka Doncic. He wants to take the challenge. And, I mean, it’s good to see,” said Dennis Schroder, who spent 2021-22 in Boston. “They’re competitive over there. And I mean, the last one, last season in the playoffs was incredible.”
The Nets saw their league-leading 3-point defense shredded, and have now dropped three of their last four games to fall to 5-7.
The Nets had allowed the fewest 3-pointers in the NBA, running foes off the line.
They harassed the Celtics into missing 39 3-point attempts last Friday, but on Wednesday, they got torched for 22 of 45 from deep.
Cam Thomas had 17 points, while Ziaire Williams — standing in for injured Dorian Finney-Smith — led the Nets with 23.
It was Williams who spotted the Nets to an early 19-8 lead with a layup.
Cam Johnson’s 3-pointer padded the cushion to 26-13
It was still 58-55 after Schroder (16 points) made a free throw with 3:21 left in the half.
But the Nets allowed eight unanswered to give up the lead, and never recovered.
Payton Pritchard (23 points, eight assists, six rebounds) hit a 3-pointer to leave the Nets trailing 63-56 with 1:45 remaining in the first half.
The Nets were still trailing by four before another 8-0 run essentially ended it.
Schroder had found Williams for another 3-pointer to make it 72-68 with 9:18 left in the third, but eight unanswered Celtic points over the next two minutes took the life out of the Nets.
Boston point guard Jrue Holiday’s 3-pointer stretched the run to 13-2, and left the Nets down 85-70.
That deficit swelled to 30 late in the fourth.
