Boston Celtics Pull Away From Nets to Win Third Game in a Row and Move to 8-7 on the Season
It hasn’t been the seamless start to the season for the Boston Celtics, and the Boston faithful might have scripted in their minds. An 0-3 stumble out of the gate, followed by a recovery, then another dip—it’s been a season of fits and starts. But Tuesday night at the Barclays Center felt different. It felt like stabilization.
Behind a vintage defensive clampdown in the fourth quarter and 29 points from Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics pulled away from the Brooklyn Nets, 113-99. The victory marked their third straight win and pushed them to an 8-7 record, crossing the .500 threshold for the first time this season.
For three quarters, this was anyone’s game. It was a scrappy, back-and-forth affair where neither team could truly separate. The Nets, despite sitting at a dismal 2-12, weren’t rolling over. Michael Porter Jr. was a problem all night, pouring in 25 points and keeping Brooklyn within striking distance. Through 36 minutes, the game hung in the balance, a testament to the competitive spirit Brooklyn head coach Jordi Fernandez is trying to instill in a rebuilding squad.
Then, the fourth quarter happened. Or rather, the Boston Celtics defense happened.
A Fourth Quarter Lockout
You can usually point to a specific offensive run when a team pulls away, but this was about suffocation. The Celtics held the Nets to a single basket over the first ten minutes of the final period. It was a clinic in switching, contesting, and simply refusing to yield ground. By the time Brooklyn finally found a rhythm again, the game was effectively over.
“Our defense dominated the fourth quarter,” the Celtics’ official account noted post-game, and that might be an understatement. That ten-minute stretch was the difference between a gritty road win and another frustrating chapter in an uneven season.
Pritchard’s relentless energy
While Brown provided the star power and Derrick White chipped in a steady 15 points, the story of the night might well be Payton Pritchard. The guard was everywhere, notching a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Rebounding is rarely the first thing you look for from your backcourt, but Pritchard’s 10 boards were emblematic of Boston’s effort. The Boston Celtics outrebounded Brooklyn 56-46, creating extra possessions and limiting the Nets to one-and-done trips down the floor. When you shoot 45.2% from deep (19-of-42) and control the glass like that, you become incredibly difficult to beat.
Looking Ahead
The context of this win matters. Boston started the year in a hole, losing their first three. They clawed back, then slipped again. Getting back to even—and now pushing past it—required beating the Clippers on Sunday and following it up with this performance in Brooklyn.
They aren’t out of the woods yet. A few bad shooting nights could pull them back down, but there are promising signs. As broadcaster Sean Grande noted, the Boston Celtics have quietly moved into the NBA’s top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. That kind of statistical balance usually predicts long-term success, even if the win-loss record has been slow to catch up.
For Brooklyn, the “rebuild vs. tank” debate continues. They are finding bright spots in losses—developing young talent like Noah Clowney (13 points) and Egor Demin (12 points)—but the wins aren’t materializing in the standings.
The Celtics and Nets won’t have to wait long to see each other again; they run it back this Friday night in Boston. If Tuesday was any indication, the Nets will need to figure out how to score when the pressure ratchets up, or the Celtics might just make it four in a row.
