Jaylen Brown scores 28 points, Celtics hit 19 3s and beat Nets 121-107 in NBA tournament play

By KYLE HIGHTOWER

BOSTON (AP) Jaylen Brown scored 28 points, making five of his team’s 19 3-pointers, to lead the Boston Celtics to a 121-107 win over the Brooklyn Nets in the In-Season Tournament on Friday night.

Jayson Tatum added 23 points and 10 rebounds to help the Celtics snap a two-game skid and earn a victory in their opening tourney game.

Boston’s bench, which had struggled in back-to-back losses, contributed 37 points, getting 15 points from Sam Hauser and 13 from Payton Pritchard.

Lonnie Walker IV led the Nets with 20 points and seven rebounds. Trendon Watford added 14 points. Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie both finished with 12 points. Brooklyn dropped to 1-1 in East Group C play.

Brooklyn outscored Boston 30-27 in the third quarter to trim what had been an 18-point deficit to just nine points entering the fourth. But Boston opened the final period with an 18-6 run to get it back up to 111-90 with just under seven minutes to play.

TD Garden gave up its trademark parquet floor for the night, flipping to an NBA-mandated tournament-themed look, complete with an image of the new NBA Cup trophy beneath “Boston” in green letters at midcourt.

The makeover didn’t take away the energy in the building.

The Celtics led by as many as 17 in the opening 24 minutes as they pushed the pace and also sizzled from the outside, knocking down 12 3s. Boston also took care of the ball with just two turnovers.

It added up to a 66-54 halftime edge.

Brooklyn played short-handed but did its best to match Boston’s early surge, getting 60 points on the night from its bench.

Ben Simmons missed his second straight game with hip soreness. Leading scorer Cam Thomas also was out as he begins rehabilitation on his sprained left ankle. It left the Nets short on designated ball handlers and made for at times choppy play in the halfcourt.

But they stayed close thanks to 11 first-half 3-pointers.

UP NEXT

Nets: Host Wizards on Sunday.

Celtics: Host Raptors on Saturday.

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