NBA: Nets stage biggest comeback of season to topple Celtics
FILE – Mikal Bridges #1 of the Brooklyn Nets celebrates his three-point shot during the first half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 01, 2023 in New York City. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP
Mikal Bridges led all scorers with 38 points and the visiting Brooklyn Nets overcame a 28-point deficit, the biggest comeback in the NBA this season, to defeat the Boston Celtics 115-105 on Friday night.
Bridges made 13 of 22 field goals, including four 3-pointers. He also had 10 rebounds and four assists.
Cam Johnson added 20 points for the Nets, who also received 17 points apiece from Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith. Center Nic Claxton had a team-high 12 rebounds.
The @BrooklynNets overcame a 28-point deficit to win in Boston… the BIGGEST COMEBACK of the season! pic.twitter.com/bMjV2xunMI
— NBA (@NBA) March 4, 2023
Jaylen Brown scored 35 points to lead Boston, which was held to 41 points in the second half. Jayson Tatum, who turned 25 on Friday, finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, but he missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.
The victory ended Brooklyn’s four-game losing streak. The Nets beat the Celtics for the first time to conclude the four-game season series.
Brooklyn took its first lead, 72-70, on two Johnson free throws with 6:11 left in the third quarter after erasing a nine-point halftime. The Nets outscored the Celtics 34-20 in the third.
The @BrooklynNets 28-point comeback was the largest in the NBA this season!@mikal_bridges: 38 points, 10 rebounds pic.twitter.com/8PL8UNT3o6
— NBA (@NBA) March 4, 2023
Brooklyn had an 89-84 lead entering the final quarter, and led by as many as 16 points with about six minutes left in the game.
Boston led 37-15 after one quarter, but allowed 40 points in the second quarter and led by nine, 64-55, at halftime. The Celtics built their lead to 28 at 51-23 following a layup by Brown with 7:23 left in the second, but the Nets outscored the Celtics 32-13 in the rest of the first half.
The Celtics were without guard Malcolm Brogdon (right ankle soreness). Brogdon began the night leading the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage (46.0 percent).
Boston center Robert Williams went to the locker room late in the third quarter with a left hamstring injury. He did not return.
The Celtics have lost two of their last three games.
