A Brooklyn beating: Nets 95, Celtics 83

Rajon Rondo's ejection ended his double-digit assist streak and
any hope that the Celtics had of mounting a comeback.

In a game that will long be remembered for the melee that took place just before halftime, the Celtics (8-7) fell to the Atlantic Division leading Brooklyn Nets (10-4) by a final of 95-83. The Celtics looked bad in this one, and although they tried to grind it out and cut the lead to single digits in the final quarter, you just never got the feeling that the Celtics would pull it out. Boston was vastly outplayed on both ends of the floor, and the only sign of life they showed was non-basketball related. There were 6 technical fouls and 3 ejections in this one.

Tonight goes to show that this team still isn't where it needs to be. They have been consistently inconsistent so far. After two wins in a row, they come out and lay an egg tonight. And now with the very real possibility of a suspension for Rajon Rondo, who knows what to expect when Portland comes to town on Friday.

Regardless of all that, here's a recap of tonight's action:

The good:

* As he seems to always do, Kevin Garnett showed up ready to work. The big fella finished with a double-double of team-high 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds. Garnett only played 29 minutes, too.

* Jason Terry showed some life in the fourth quarter. He had 5 points in the first three minutes of the final frame, including a big three-point play to cut the lead to single digits, 72-63. He scored 9 of his 13 points in the final frame in a last ditch effort to salvage a victory, but it was too little too late.

* The Celtics did shoot 64% in the first six-and-a-half minutes of this game. Gotta count for something, right?

* Even though he only played 18 minutes, Rajon Rondo still almost outplayed Deron Williams. Williams was not that impressive, going 3-of-12 from the floor for 8 points, had 4 rebounds, and 7 assists. Rondo had 6 points on 3-of-9 from the floor, had 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Considering Williams played 40 minutes and still had those numbers is a bit discouraging for Brooklyn. However, he has been dealing with a sprained right wrist as well as bone spurs in his ankle.

The bad:

* Where do we begin? Let's start with the intangibles. From the get go, the Celtics looked out of sync. Brooklyn dictated the pace, tone, and the level of physicality. They hit the Celtics first, and it took until the final minute of the first half for the Celtics to punch back. Coach Doc Rivers had some candid comments after the game. "We all have to keep our emotions," said Rivers. "I mean, hell, we didn’t come to play -- as a team, that was awful, basketball-wise. I thought, if I’m Brooklyn and the league, you’ve got to think we’re pretty soft the way we’re playing. We’re a soft team right now; we have no toughness. And that [fighting] stuff’s not toughness.”

* For the most part, Jared Sullinger has played fairly well so far and hasn't looked like a rookie. Tonight, he met Reggie Evans. Evans, notorious for his tenacity and ability to irritate opposing players, got to him tonight, and the Celtics needed to call on the grizzly veteran, Jason Collins, to counter Evans' toughness. Sullinger only played 14 minutes and grabbed 3 rebounds, very uncharacteristic of him, and it goes to show the impact Evans as well as the other beasts had on him.

* In 29 minutes off the bench, Andray Blatche had 8 offensive rebounds. The entire Celtics team had 8 offensive rebounds.

* When 38-year-old Jerry Stackhouse scores more points than any player on the Celtics -- he had 17 while Garnett and Bass each had 16 to lead the Celtics -- you know you're not in a good position to win the game.

* The Celtics only shot 5 free throws in the first half, and three of them were the result of technical fouls. The other two were KG's free throws off the hard and now famous foul by Kris Humphries. They finished with 24 for the game. This disparity can be blamed on the officials -- these guys did not have a good game today -- or a lack of aggressiveness by Boston. I think a little bit of blame goes to both reasons.

* At one point, Paul Pierce was 1-of-6 from the free throw line. Coming into tonight, he was shooting 87% from the line for the season.

* To add insult to injury -- yes, the pun was intended -- a few Celtics went down with injuries. First, Jeff Green left in the third quarter after an apparent left knee injury. However, he returned to the game and appeared to be O.K. Chris Wilcox left at half time after he got sick and didn't return. Finally, Courtney Lee was helped off the court with 6:27 to play in the game after injuring his left wrist. His status is unknown.


The Celtics will regroup and return to action on Friday night when they host the Portland Trail Blazers.