The Boston Celtics were right there in the hunt for the win for three quarters, but the wheels fell off late against the Brooklyn Nets in their 123 – 95 Christmas Day loss, who — as Celtic veteran Marcus Smart put it afterwards, “force you to be almost perfect.”
Make no mistake, the Nets are not invincible — but they are so deep and well balanced that even minor mistakes can cost opponents dearly in early results. And the Celtics made more than a few mistakes against Brooklyn Friday. And while it may be no easy task deterring the likes of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, letting your opponent shoot north of 50% not only overall but from deep is a recipe for disaster — especially if your team is hitting 37.8% from the floor and 29.6% from 3-point range.
Of course, the Nets defended exceptionally well, forcing 15 turnovers — but committed as many themselves. And the best defense on earth can’t explain why the Celtics only hit 13-of-19 free throws in the contest.
For a look at the game and its ebbs and flows, watch the video reap embedded above, and try not to get to down about the loss.
As coach Brad Stevens shared postgame, “That team is really good. They’re the deepest team in the NBA, and they’re certainly in the conversation for the best.”
