BOSTON — After a historic start to the season, the Celtics’ offense cooled off in December and hadn’t been quite the same since. There was a natural regression as opponents adjusted. The 3-pointers stopped falling. Robert Williams’ re-insertion to the lineup has been a process.
Lately, the absence of Marcus Smart has loomed large.
But on Wednesday night, the Celtics returned to the norm. It felt like November again at TD Garden.
After a rare three-day break, the Celtics looked rejuvenated from the moment the ball tipped. They stomped on the Brooklyn Nets’ throats and never let off. From start to finish, the Celtics dominated in one of their most convincing showings of the season, a 139-96 victory over Kyrie Irving and the Nets at TD Garden.
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points in 29 minutes, Jaylen Brown had 26 points in 32 minutes — as the star tandem each made seven 3-pointers — and neither played in the fourth quarter of this demolition of the Nets, who were without Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons. The Celtics have now won 10 consecutive games over the Nets, which includes last season’s first-round playoff sweep.
The Celtics shot 57.7% from the floor and made 26 3-pointers in one of their best offensive displays of the season. The 43-point victory was their largest of the season.
The outcome of this game — in which the Celtics never trailed — was rarely in doubt. The C’s jumped out to a 14-3 lead, which forced an early Nets timeout, and never let off the gas. Tatum hit a 3-pointer that put the C’s up 27-4 and the lead grew to 30 by the end of their first quarter, their largest advantage after an opening period in franchise history.
After the first quarter, Tatum had 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting as he outscored the Nets, who had 16 points on 6-for-21 shooting.
It never got better for the Nets. The Celtics scored 79 points — their most in a first half since 1990 — and led by 34 at halftime. They led by at least 30 for the entirety of the second half, and Tatum’s triple to end the third quarter to put them up 38 caused Julian Edelman watching courtside to momentarily lose his mind. The C’s pulled all their regulars early in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 49.
