BOSTON _ For three quarters, it was anything but a super Tuesday night for the Nets at TD Garden. But after trailing by 21 points in the third quarter, the Nets found a super sub in little-used Chris Chiozza, who sparked a rally led by budding superstar Caris LeVert, who scored a career-high 51 points, including all 11 Nets points in overtime of a shocking 129-120 victory over the Celtics.
The Nets were trailing the Celtics, 79-59, late in the third period when Nets coach Kenny Atkinson made a surprising decision to pull point guard Spencer Dinwiddie and insert Chiozza, who is on a two-way contract and has spent much of his season with the Long Island Nets. When the fourth quarter began with the Nets still down 17, Chiozza was in the backcourt alongside LeVert.
Maybe Atkinson was upset with the 21-1 difference in points off turnovers favoring the Celtics when Chiozza entered. To his credit, the 5-11 water-bug fast guard provided a spark with his hustle as the Nets cut their deficit to seven points with 6:19 left to play during a 19-6 run in which LeVert and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot each had six points. LeVert was the only Nets starter on the floor in that stretch.
