NEW YORK _ The Nets were done in Tuesday night by The Man Behind The Mask.
Kyrie Irving, wearing a mask to protect a small fracture beneath his right eye, scored seven points and made a key steal in the final four minutes as the Celtics held off the Nets, 109-102, before a Barclays Center crowd that was surprisingly Boston-flavored. It was the Celtics' 13th consecutive win.
The Nets played Boston tough and were within 95-91 when Allen Crabbe made a 3-pointer with 4:04 to play. Irving answered with baskets on consecutive Boston possessions. He made a key steal after the Nets' Trevor Booker got an offensive rebound in a six-point game with one minute to play, and it ended up in a Jayson Tatum dunk on the other end. Irving also made 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch.
The Nets (5-9) have lost seven of nine.
Joe Harris had 19 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Caris LeVert and Crabbe each scored 15 for the Nets. Spencer Dinwiddie, starting at point guard because D'Angelo Russell is out with a knee contusion, had 12 points and 11 assists.
Irving's mask may have had something to do with his shooting 8 for 20, but he had 25 points and five assists. Marcus Morris had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Tatum had 19 points and Al Horford had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics (13-2).
Morris had six points in a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter as Boston pulled away to a 92-81 lead with about seven minutes left.
The Celtics looked as if they might break away late in the third quarter. With their NBA-best defense holding the Nets to 8-for-23 shooting and forcing four turnovers, they closed the quarter with a 19-8 run for an 80-71 lead. The Nets made only two field goals over the final 6:37 of the quarter.
In the first half the Nets rebounded after a poor stretch, and they did that again to start the fourth, scoring 10 of the first 12 points. Harris made two 3-pointers, and after a fast break ended with a layup by LeVert, the Nets were within 82-81 with about 10 minutes to play.
The Nets couldn't have looked much worse in the first seven minutes of the game. The Celtics shot 7 for 9, built a 17-4 lead and looked ready to blow the Nets' doors off. The Nets made a great recovery and took the lead before the half ended in a 52-52 tie.
LeVert got it started by scoring Brooklyn's last seven points of the first quarter as it closed to 27-21. In the middle of the second quarter, Harris ignited a 22-5 run with 3-pointers on consecutive Nets possessions. Crabbe made a 3 and found Levert for a layup for a 38-37 Nets lead. When DeMarre Carroll made a 3-pointer 2:16 later, the Nets led 43-37. Irving had eight of the Celtics' next 13 points as Boston took a 50-49 lead just before halftime.
