When the Brooklyn Nets faced the Boston Celtics in recent seasons, the results did not favor Brooklyn.
The Nets nearly left Boston victorious Friday night by starting fast before struggling down the stretch and falling in overtime.
Brooklyn hopes to put itself in position to finish off a rare win over the Celtics on Wednesday night when the teams meet in the Barclays Center.
Boston is 11-1 in the past 12 regular-season meetings with Brooklyn and has won the past five. Of the Celtics’ 11 wins in that span, eight have been by double digits.
In the first meeting of a season in which the Celtics are strong favorites to repeat as champions and the Nets are projected to be amongst the NBA’s worst teams, Boston earned a 108-104 overtime win on Nov. 8. The Celtics won despite allowing the game’s first 12 points.
Brooklyn’s close call at Boston was part of a three-game trip. A night after falling short against the Celtics, the Nets held a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter and wound up with a 105-100 loss to the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers.
On Monday, the Nets made enough plays down the stretch in their 107-105 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans and improved to 5-4 in nine games since opening the season with road losses to the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic.
Leading scorer Cam Thomas hit the go-ahead 3-pointer Monday with 32.9 seconds left, and the Nets made a pair of defensive stops. Brooklyn placed seven players in double figures and hit a season-high 19 3-pointers.
Thomas paced the Nets with 17 points to go with seven rebounds while Cameron Johnson added 15 points and Dennis Schroder 14.
“That was big for us,” Brooklyn forward Noah Clowney said after contributing 15 points. “We had a few games against really good teams where we played down to the wire and we don’t close in the fourth. So for us to close in the fourth was a big step in the right direction.”
The Nets used a different starting lineup by inserting Ben Simmons off the bench. He finished with six points and 12 assists. Ziaire Williams started for Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) and might do so again if the veteran forward is unable to play.
Boston will attempt to avoid consecutive losses for the first time this season after squandering a 15-point lead in its 117-116 home defeat to the Hawks on Tuesday in its first in-season tournament game.
Jaylen Brown, who missed Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn, scored a season-high 37 points and Derrick White added 31. Jayson Tatum was held to 20 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field as the Celtics were outplayed in numerous facets against Atlanta.
Boston gave up 63 points in the second half and committed a season-worst 20 turnovers. The Celtics also conceded a season-high 20 offensive rebounds.
“We expected to win,” Brown said. “Too careless, and it showed. I think the No. 1 category it showed in is our turnovers. Uncharacteristic of us to have 20 turnovers in any circumstance. I think that just displayed that we weren’t in sync like we normally are, so we’ve got to be better at that, and I’ve got to be better at that.”
