Despite a close score, Celtics had a lead up to 18 points in the third quarter.
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Hunter had 11 points while playing a team-high 29 minutes. This was IT’s first opportunity to start a game for the Boston Celtics and he did not disappoint. He led the team in points for the game with 19 and also led the team with 6 rebounds. Jack is the starter by default and his play will determine whether Brooklyn has a chance at another playoff berth or if they will be at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Many people, myself included, wondered whether Thomas and Turner would be able to co-exist harmoniously on the court. He turned the ball over seven times in his past two games and is 5-for-his-last-13 from the floor.
Newcomer Amir Johnson was the MVP of the game, as he had his handprints everywhere in the first quarter. Johnson put up a ridiculously efficient 19 points on 8-13 shooting.
The Celtics had six players in double figures and everyone who played scored. We had 22 misses in the paint, we had 50 points in the paint, and we missed 22 shots. Sullinger had a nice debut in Milan, putting up 14 points in 15 minutes, but is 3-of-14 shooting for 10 points in just 23 minutes the last two games.
In the first preseason game played on United States soil this year, the Boston Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets 109-105 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
The only thing more handsome than watching Johnson work in the paint was watching him work outside of the arc. Jerebko hit the floor hard, but appeared more frustrated than hurt. The Celtics had an unbelievable 28 assists on 40 made field goals, 16 of which came from Evan Turner and Isaiah Thomas. That number dipped as Celtics coach Brad Stevens emptied the bench, but the starless C’s are spreading the wealth, and that will be a key to their success this season.
Speaking of driving to the hoop, Kelly Olynyk looks like a semi-new player out there. Translating his talents to game action – and doing it consistently – has been the challenge. His back-to-back three’s in the fourth quarter also kept the Nets out of the game while the rookie-squads took over for each team. Although this number doesn’t represent it, his defense still leaves quite a bit to be desired. With Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez already on board, they went for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry (and D.J. White), and gave up Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans, Kris Joseph and, most importantly, unprotected first-round draft picks in 2014 (James Young was chosen), 2016 and 2018, as well as the right for the Celts to swap first-round position in 2017.
Brooklyn Nets center Willie Reed has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, an MRI confirmed today.
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Smart sat out Wednesday’s win over the Nets – Boston’s only game against National Basketball Association competition thus far.
