Maybe the Nets just needed to get healthy.
Playing with their full starting lineup for the first time in nearly a month, the Nets put together one of their finest performances of the season, coming away with a 104-93 victory over the Celtics in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732 inside Barclays Center Tuesday night for their first winning streak of the season.
Although Paul Pierce — who returned to the lineup much quicker than expected after breaking a bone in his right hand on Nov. 29 — came off the bench, it was the first time the Nets had their usual starting lineup of Pierce, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez playing in the same game since their 100-98 overtime victory in Phoenix on Nov. 15.
Since Williams and Brook Lopez went down with sprained left ankles in that game, the Nets (7-14) had struggled mightily, dropping nine of their previous 12 games, with Williams missing all but one game and Lopez sitting out seven. But Williams made his return against the Celtics, his first game action since aggravating the sprained ankle in his initial return to the lineup on Nov. 20. After a slow start, he looked quite good, slicing and dicing his way through the Boston defense for 25 points and seven assists while playing nearly 37 minutes.
Meanwhile, Lopez continued his utter dominance in the paint, going 10-for-13 from the field for 24 points, scoring at will in the post against the much smaller Jared Sullinger, whom he repeatedly backed all the way down to the rim before turning and flipping the ball into the basket.
Including Saturday night's game in Milwaukee, Lopez has gone 21-for-26 from the field in his last two games, scoring 57 points and carrying the Nets to a pair of much-needed wins that have pulled them to within two games of the Celtics (10-13) for the right to lead the worst division in basketball.
But it wasn't just Lopez who made a point of attacking the basket. After coach Jason Kidd said repeatedly in the wake of Saturday's win he wanted his team to focus on attacking the basket, the Nets did just that Tuesday.
Whenever the Nets had a size advantage — which was often, given their size at every position — they exploited it, resulting in one easy basket after another.
Along with Williams and Lopez, the Nets had Alan Anderson (15 points), Andray Blatche (11) and Kevin Garnett (11) finish in double figures, while Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 22 points.
Pierce finished with four points, seven rebounds and three assists in 22:14, and though he went 0-for-3 from the field while wearing a protective brace on his right hand, he looked comfortable orchestrating the offense and crashing the boards.
The Nets closed the first quarter with a 14-2 run to take a 31-20 lead — their largest lead after the first quarter all season — and after a Bradley jumper cut the lead to 47-45 late in the second, the Nets closed the first half with a 9-2 run to take a 56-47 lead at the break.
Once again the Nets got off to a horrible start in the third quarter, as a pair of Sullinger 3-pointers started and finished a 13-4 run to open the half and tie the game at 60. Unlike so many other times this season, the Nets immediately responded with a run of their own, knocking down five straight baskets to kick off a 25-8 run over the next several minutes, and went into the fourth holding an 85-72 lead they never relinquished.
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