BOSTON – In the final seconds of the game Saturday between Boston and Brooklyn, both teams began to show their true colors.
The Celtics' defense created easy scores, and the Nets reminded us all why they have one of the worst records in the NBA.
But as has been the case for the Celtics against teams that are good at being bad like the Nets, it was too little too late as the Nets held on for a 100-97 win.
In a frenetic, turnover-frenzied final seconds by Brooklyn, the Celtics had a chance to force overtime but Jonas Jerebko’s desperation 3-pointer from the corner was off the mark.
Boston got the offensive rebound, but Jae Crowder’s heave from behind the 3-point line was not released in time.
Boston (18-15) have now lost two in a row, both against teams that rank among the NBA’s bottom five record-wise. For the season, the Celtics are just 3-3 against bottom-five teams.
To lose those games, particularly in a year when the Eastern Conference is tighter than usual, is a bit disturbing and potentially becoming the difference between getting into the postseason or not.
There’s a lot of games still left to be played, obviously.
But as we get deeper into the season, there are certain losses that will stick out such as Saturday’s defeat to Brooklyn.
From the very outset, Boston found itself playing catch-up as Brooklyn started by scoring eight straight.
After spending most of the game trailing, Boston opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to tie the score at 83.
Following a Nets timeout, Brooklyn went on a 7-2 run fueled by the inside play of Brook Lopez.
He would lead all scorers in tallying his fourth straight double-double with 30 points and 13 rebounds.
The Celtics responded and eventually took the lead on multiple occasions, but they were never able to string enough good plays together at both ends of the floor to assume control of the game.
Brooklyn had their way offensively against the Celtics, with Lopez leading the way.
The Celtics looked seemingly helpless most of the game when it came to defending Lopez.
If he wasn’t scoring from inside the paint, he was getting points from the free throw line after being fouled.
And when Lopez wasn’t hurting them, Thaddeus Young was giving them problems.
The Celtics fell behind as many as 13 points in the third quarter, a run that came about after an incident in which Jared Sullinger delivered a hard foul to Lopez at the 9:56 mark of the third quarter.
After officials reviewed the play, Sullinger’s foul was upgraded to a flagrant-one while Jarrett Jack and Jae Crowder were each whistled for a technical foul.