The Boston Celtics were without Isaiah Thomas, and boy could they have used him.
For most of the first two quarters of play, the Celtics played with little flow and even less rhythm offensively.
But their defense did its part to keep the Celtics in control as the half ended with Boston ahead 45-37 fueled by a 9-3 run to close out the half.
Boston led most of the game, but never by more than six points.
The Celtics made a point of feeding Al Horford often, a good idea considering Thomas (knee) did not play against the Nets and will remain out when the Celtics travel to play Philadelphia on Sunday.
But Horford’s passing ability meant very little when those around him consistently missed shot after shot.
And when they weren’t missing shots, Boston was turning the ball over.
Boston Celtics
Despite all its problems, the Celtics’ defense was solid and the offense did just enough in the closing minutes of the second quarter to lead by eight points.
Here’s a look at Stars, Studs and Duds from the first half of Friday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
STARS
Avery Bradley
Without Thomas, the Celtics needed another to step up and Bradley has shown himself to be that guy. He leads the Celtics with 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting.
Jae Crowder
Strong defense and even stronger work on the boards tonight for Crowder. He has seven points to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
STUDS
Brook Lopez
He’s one of the NBA’s better big man, and has done a solid job thus far tonight. He had eight points, three rebounds and two blocked shots.
Gerald Green
The veteran wing player came off the bench and gave Boston a nice lift in the first half. He has seven points in just under eight minutes of court time.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Playing power forward for the Nets, RHJ had eight points and four rebounds.
DUD
Boston’s offense
The Celtics offense never got into any kind of flow, resulting in them shooting just 36.4 percent in the half and yet still be able to maintain a lead.