The Brooklyn Nets have been a thorn in the side of the NBA’s top teams at various points throughout the season. That remained the case when the Boston Celtics visited Barclays Center on Saturday night.
Playing without Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton, Trendon Watford and Noah Clowney, Brooklyn fell behind by 21 points against a Celtics squad with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis. However, Jordi Fernandez’s squad wouldn’t quit.
After pulling themselves within one point with three seconds remaining, the Nets had a chance for a game-winner after Payton Pritchard missed a free-throw. However, they failed to get a shot off, sealing a 115-113 loss.
“We all want to win. And the reality is when you lose, you’re not happy. But I can tell these guys that I’m extremely proud of them with the way they played,” Fernandez said. “There’s no moral victories here, but if that’s going to be our identity, a lot of good things are going to happen. And these guys work every day. These guys compete every single night, and they stay together.
And like today, whoever’s out there, the groups that they’ve never been together, they find a way. And that makes me proud. Credit to our group for being resilient, connected, staying together… Fighting all the way through.”
The Nets amazingly had a shot to win it at the buzzer but didn’t get it off.
They put up an incredible fight while severely shorthanded. pic.twitter.com/sjPfVrMcoH
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 16, 2025
Saturday’s near comeback vs. the Celtics came after the Nets held fourth quarter leads against the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers in three of their previous five games.
Nets keep pace in draft lottery race with loss to Celtics
Brooklyn held Boston, the NBA’s top three-point shooting team, to 13-of-38 (34.2 percent) from beyond the arc while shooting 20-of-46 (43.5 percent) themselves. The Nets trailed 112-103 with 1:53 remaining but scored on four straight possessions to cut the Celtics’ lead to one in the final seconds. They nearly mounted a similar comeback after failing behind by 10 points during a recent loss to Stephen Curry and the Warriors.
Cam Johnson led Brooklyn with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists on 9-of-19 shooting. Keon Johnson added 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Jalen Wilson and Maxwell Lewis added 15 apiece off the bench while combining to shoot 7-of-11 from three. Day’Ron Sharpe, the Nets’ only available center, posted nine points, 16 rebounds and five assists.
Saturday’s performance came after Brooklyn learned that leading scorer Cam Thomas would miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury.
“You look at our team, no matter who is out, we always have somebody to step up,” Sharpe said. “You never know what game it’s gonna be, what guy it’s gonna be, but no matter whoever’s name is called they always step up and produce. It don’t matter who we play against, it don’t matter who they got on the court. I just know the 15 guys I got on my team, we ready to go to work.”
Day’Ron Sharpe on the Nets’ fight tonight after learning Cam Thomas was out for the season:
“You look at our team, no matter who is out, we always have someone to step up… It don’t matter who we play against… I just know the 15 guys I got on my team, we ready to go to work.” pic.twitter.com/knojQ3JEWv
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 16, 2025
Porzingis led the Celtics with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Payton Pritchard added 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Jayson Tatum posted 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on 8-of-19 from the field.
The loss marks Brooklyn’s 10th in their last 11 games. Following the extended skid, the Nets hold a half-game lead on the Philadelphia 76ers and a two-game lead on the Toronto Raptors for fifth place in the draft lottery standings. They’ll be back in action on Sunday when the Atlanta Hawks visit Barclays Center.
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