Celtics-Nets takeaways: C’s rain 3s, set team records in blowout win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Three days of rest did wonders for the Boston Celtics as they put on a show against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden.
The C’s led Brooklyn by 30 after a historic first quarter and didn’t look back. Their 79 first-half points marked their most since 1990. From there, they cruised to a wire-to-wire 139-96 victory.
Boston shot 57.6 percent from the floor, including a scorching 48.1% (26-for-54) from 3-point range. Jayson Tatum dropped a game-high 31 points while Jaylen Brown tallied 26. Both Celtics stars sat out the fourth quarter with the game already well in hand.
Kyrie Irving had 20 points and Cam Thomas contributed 19 off the bench for Brooklyn.
The Celtics will look to carry the momentum into Friday night’s game vs. the Phoenix Suns. First, here are our takeaways from the C’s dominant win over the Nets, which brings them to 37-15 on the season.
A historic start
The Celtics immediately set the tone with their best first quarter of the season. The Nets were punched in the mouth early and never recovered.
Boston outscored Brooklyn 46-16 in the opening frame. It marked the first time in franchise history the Celtics outscored their opponent by 30 points in the first quarter.
It took only nine minutes for the C’s to jump out to a 30-point lead. They did so by hitting eight straight 3-pointers to start the game and shooting 62.1% on field goals (18-for-29) in the first quarter.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were responsible for the hot start. Tatum outscored the Nets by himself with 18 points in the quarter and Brown chipped in 12 points of his own. They combined to shoot 7-for-8 from long range in the frame.
The 46 points marked the seventh-highest total Boston has scored in a single quarter in franchise history and the most they’ve scored in a quarter in 30 years, per Celtics.com’s Marc D’Amico.
Rob Williams missed Saturday’s overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers with a left ankle sprain and was questionable for Wednesday’s game due to the injury. Given Williams’ history, it’s worrisome anytime the big man’s name pops up on the injury report.
No need to panic, though. Williams showed he’s feeling just fine with one of his best games of the campaign thus far.
Williams notched 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half, the most points and rebounds he has had in the first half of a game this season. He finished with 16 points, nine boards, and a block while shooting xx-for-xx from the floor in 19 minutes.
Williams holds the record for most consecutive games (66) with a field goal percentage of 50% or higher. He continues to be one of Boston’s most important players on both ends of the court.
Three’s company
The Nets had no answer for the Celtics’ 3-point shooting, and that proved to be the difference as Boston’s marksmanship decided this one early.
After hitting eight consecutive 3s in the first quarter (seven from Tatum and Brown), the C’s went on to make a whopping 26 3s in the game. That’s the most made 3-pointers in franchise history at TD Garden and the second-most overall. The team record is 27 earlier this season (Nov. 5, 2022) against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Both Tatum and Brown shot 7-for-12 from beyond the arc. They became the first teammates in C’s history to make seven 3s in the same game. Making that feat even more impressive is they accomplished it in only three quarters.
Al Horford (9 points, 5 rebounds) added to the 3-point barrage by shooting 3-for-4 from long range. Derrick White (14 points, 10 rebounds), Malcolm Brogdon (10 points, 4 assists), Sam Hauser (8 points, 5 rebounds), and Grant Williams (6 points, 2 rebounds) each had two 3s.
No such luck for the Nets as they shot 9-for-39 (23.1%) from 3. Irving was 1-for-7 beyond the arc.