Dinwiddie Fantastic Again, Brooklyn Nets Defeat Boston Celtics, 112-107

The Brooklyn Nets defeated Boston Celtics in the opening game of Friday’s NBA program. After a close finish, the home team managed to take down the Celts with 112-107.

The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Spencer Dinwiddie, was once again superb, posting another double-double and organizing Nets’ game in the best possible way.

“Kenny said it was something like a playoff series, having a home-and-home, and having to defend the home court, and do our job. It was nice,” the hero of the game told during the on-court interview.

Dinwiddie, who replaces absent Kyrie Irving scored 32 points, had 11 assists and was 6 for 8 from downtown. Brad Stevens’ and his crew couldn’t do anything to stop the 6’6” guard, and although he did slow down in the second half, he carried his Nets to another triumph.

“He’s playing as good as anyone in the NBA right now, ” Kenny Atkinson said to the reporters. 

Brooklyn was ahead from the opening minute almost all the way up until the end. The only time Boston interrupted that was in the second period, after Marcus Smart’s free throws, when he pushed the Celts ahead at 37-36. But that was just a temporary situation.

“The start of the game really hurt us,” Brad Stevens explained. “I thought they were probably more ready than us, and they punched us in the mouth.”

The game was played in waves, and each time Nets had a surge, the Celtics would immediately reply and come back to a close distance. Following Iman Shumpert’s three with 2:25 to go in the first, Brooklyn went up 29-15. Then Atkinson’s side didn’t score for almost five and a half minutes in the early part of the second quarter, before delivering 8 straight points to get away at the end of the same.

Boston was again just two-points form the hosts in the third, but a 13-2 series pushed back the visitors, who didn’t want to surrender. With 7:14 until the end of the game, Nets were leading 102-87. The Celts would threaten in the final minute, coming down to just 4 points, away, but they didn’t have enough concentration and power to make a sensation and take this one.

Kyrie Irving showing his former #Celtics teammates some love after the game pic.twitter.com/YQ2JXJSzgb

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 29, 2019

Their best player was Jayson Tatum with 26 points, from which he delivered 20 in the opening half. Tatum was 10 for 19 from the game, and had 9 boards and 4 steals. Kemba Walker scored 17 but with a poor shooting percentage, 6 for 19, and with only one hit in eight three-point attempts.

Marcus Smart added 15, Brad Wanamaker 11.

For the Nets, besides Dinwiddie, all other starters contributed with a double-digit number of points. Taurean Prince had 16, Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 14 buckets and 11 boards, while Joe Harris and Garrett Temple added 12 each.

“He’s all over the court and it’s like he’s our quarterback on defense. Anytime we miss a shot it seems like he’s there cleaning up the boards,” Atkinson said about Allen after the game.

DeAndre Jordan had several spectacular dunks, and the former Clipper concluded the night with 8 points and 11 boards.

The Nets were solid from downtown, making 17 of 41 long-distance shots. On the other side, the Celtics were 9 for 28.

Up next, these two sides are playing another match, only at the TD Garden, this Sunday.