BOSTON _ During their remarkable midseason turnaround, the Nets relied on a deep well of talent and teamwork to help them overcome injuries and string together improbable victories. But with a roster down to 10 healthy bodies, two of which spent most of the season in the G League, they finally hit the bottom of the well in a 112-104 loss to the Celtics that ended their six-game winning streak Monday night at TD Garden.
Because of their dire injury situation, the Nets found themselves playing a fourth-quarter lineup that included Theo Pinson and Mitch Creek from their Long Island Nets G League team. Pinson scored 19 points in their previous win over the Knicks but managed only three points against the Celtics, while Creek came into the game with one NBA point to his credit and scored six more.
Despite their makeshift lineup, the Nets managed to lead by three in the third quarter and still trailed by only one point early in the fourth period. But that's when they hit the wall, committing five turnovers and missing two shots as the Celtics put together an 11-0 run to take control at 102-90. The Nets never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
D'Angelo Russell led the Nets (27-24) with 25 points, Shabazz Napier added 20, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 14 points and nine rebounds. But the Nets shot only 37.9 from the field, committed 17 turnovers leading to 27 Celtics points and had 16 shots blocked.
The Celtics (31-19) had six players score in double figures, including 19 from Jaylen Brown and 16 each from Aron Baynes and Marcus Smart. Al Horford added 14 points, 10 rebounds and blocked six shots.
The Nets and Celtics faced off for the third time in three weeks, and for the second straight game, Kyrie Irving missed the game with an injury. In that previous meeting at Barclays Center, the Nets built a 27-point fourth-quarter lead and had to hold off a frantic Celtics comeback for a 7-point win.
"The other team has all the pressure in the world because the only thing they can do the rest of the game is not win the game," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of that game. "So that's a lot different pressure when you're up 27 with 10 minutes to go. They smashed us in the third quarter.
"I thought we probably played as well defensively in quarters one, two and four as we have any time all year, but the third quarter, we weren't very good and they took advantage of us. But they've been doing that to teams all season. This is a really good team, they really play well together and it's a heck of a challenge to play against them."
The Celtics made it look easy in the early going, hitting five 3s on their way to a 23-10 lead out of the gate. Shabazz Napier came off the bench to score 15 first-half points and lead a comeback that tied the game at 44 midway through the second period, but the Nets missed 12 of their next 14 shots to trail at halftime, 60-50.
The deficit grew to 12 points early in the third period, but Russell caught fire, scoring 11 points in a 17-2 Nets run that ended with three straight 3-pointers by Russell to give the nets their first lead of the game at 71-68. The Celtics quickly regained the lead, but DeMarre Carroll converted a four-point play and two foul shots by Mitch Creek, who is on a 10-day contract gave the Nets a one-point lead before a Rozier bucket put the Celtics on top 89-88 after three quarters.
