Nets fall to shorthanded Celtics as NBA lottery odds improve

The Nets got to face a Boston team without Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown.But the Celtics still had championship mettle, and enough talent to handle Brooklyn.While the Nets led much of the night, and in the fourth quarter, they fell 104-96 to Boston before a sellout crowd of 19,156 at TD Garden on Tuesday night.The Nets were up 80-78 before allowing a 20-8 run to lose the game.The Nets (23-46) have dropped eight straight meetings with the Celtics.

They moved a half-game ahead of idle Philadelphia for the fifth-best odds in the lottery, and a full game ahead of seventh-place Toronto.Tuesday marked the first time all season Boston (50-19) was without both Tatum and Brown (back spasms) in the same game.But Kristaps Porzingis had a team-high 25 points and 13 rebounds.And far more damaging to the Nets was allowing Creighton product Baylor Scheierman a career-high 20 points off the bench, shooting 7-for-8 overall and 6-for-7 from behind the arc.The Nets led for most of the evening, but ended up shooting just 40.9 percent overall and 13-for-45 from deep.

They were out-rebounded 48-39.Point guard D’Angelo Russell — who had a team-high 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds — hit a 3-pointer off a Cam Johnson feed to cap an 11-3 run that put the Nets ahead 37-28 with 7:32 left in the first half.But it took just a one-minute lapse in the third to concede a 10-2 Celtics run.Sign up for Inside the Nets by Brian Lewis, exclusively on Sports+.

Please provide a valid email address.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! After Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer, the Nets found themselves down 65-62 with 4:43 left in the third.And they gave up a highlight play to end the third that gave Boston momentum headed into the fourth.After Trendon Watford’s scoop had put the Nets up 70-66, a Scheierman layup cut that lead in half.Then w...