Recap: Jayson Tatum’s 38 Points Not Enough as Celtics Fall to Nets, 109-104
Photo by Ned Dishman | NBAE via Getty Images
Jayson Tatum scored 38 points but it wasn’t enough as a late Boston rally came up short in a 109-104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Joe Harris led the Nets with 20 points as Brooklyn had 5 players in double figures in a game that had missing stars on both sides. Former Celtic Kyrie Irving just missed a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds, and 11 assists.
For the Celtics, who played without Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, and Robert Williams III, rookie Payton Pritchard added 22 points (going 6-7 from beyond the arc) and Marcus Smart chipped in with 19 points.
Tatum scored 25 points (nine in the first quarter and 16 in the second) in the first half to keep the Celtics close as they led 25-21 after one, but trailed 60-51 at halftime. Brooklyn pushed the lead to 88-73 after three as they used 19 Boston turnovers to run to a 32-0 fastbreak point advantage for the game.
The Celtics picked up their defense in the final period and cut a 17-point deficit (94-77) down to 98-95 on a Tatum three-pointer with 3:32 left in the game. Brooklyn then forced four turnovers over the next two minutes and used a dunk from Jeff Green and a three-point bucket from Joe Harris to push the lead back up to 103-95. The Nets got two free throws from Landry Shamet, Blake Griffin to get to the final score of the game.
Boston was unable to finish off the comeback as the Nets sweep the season series against the Celtics. Boston will be back in action on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. (EST) on ESPN.
