It was the day before Thanksgiving and with dreams of plates full of turkey and stuffing dancing in their heads, thousands of fans brought their holiday spirit into the Barclays Center to cheer on the Brooklyn Nets as they took on the Boston Celtics. Jeremy Lin was once again inactive for the game due to a hamstring injury but the rest of the team was ready for action.
The Nets had a rough start in the opening minutes of the game falling behind 9-2 with 8:53 on the clock with Trevor Booker providing the only basket for Brooklyn. Booker provided the arena with energy due to his hustle on the floor. The Nets struggled from the field and three-point range compiling completion percentages for the quarter of 27.3% and 25% respectively. Unfortunately, sloppy play caused the Nets to commit seven turnovers leading to six Celtics points.
The start of the second quarter saw Brooklyn down by fourteen and it looked like the Celtics would run away with the game, however, Brooklyn pride would thwart such an attempt. The crowd chants of “defense!” propelled the team to respond by limiting Boston’s scoring opportunities and the Nets quickened the tempo leading to Brooklyn fast break points. While the Nets’ shooting woes continued, a three-pointer by Bojan Bogdanovic cut the lead to 10. The three-pointers didn’t always come when they wanted but they were always on time as three point baskets made by Brook Lopez and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson helped the Nets eventually cut the lead to two points at the end of the half.
The third quarter started and the Nets kept the number of turnovers to a minimum but the Celtics were able to penetrate the defense allowing shots from beyond the arc. The Celtics began to heat up from three-point land aiding in extending their lead. The Nets gave a valiant effort but the Celtics never relinquished the lead and left the Barclays Center with a victory, 111-92.