The Celtics are on a five-game win streak after beating the Brooklyn Nets 118-110 Tuesday night at the Barclays Center.
Jayson Tatum went 14-of-26 from the field, including 5-of-11 from deep to finish with 41 points to go along with 14 rebounds and five assists.
Despite tying his career-high for most points scored in the first half with 31, Tatum only attempted nine more shots in the last two quarters while leading a balanced scoring of all five starters notching at least 14 points or more.
"We've got a really good team where in any given possession we could have two, three advantages and it's not always just going to be me," Tatum said in his postgame comments. "So just understanding that and knowing that I need my teammates. I need everybody, we all need each other."
Jaylen Brown had 19 points, while Al Horford -- who started in place of Kristaps Porzingis (lower back contusion) and Derrick White each netted 16 points respectively. Jrue Holiday recorded a double-double of 14 points and 12 assists to help improve the Celtics to 42-12 on the season.
"We rely on him to make those and he's not afraid to shoot them," Holiday said in his postgame presser of Tatum's performance. "But tonight, him taking those shots gave us a lot of energy. It definitely gave us a boost to go out there, lock in defensively and then get him the ball back."
Mikal Bridges led the Nets with 27 points and Cam Thomas scored 26 points as they combined for 20-of-40 shooting. Lonnie Walker IV chipped in 15 points off the bench for Brooklyn, who fell to 21-32 and have lost nine of their last 10 meetings against the C's.
Boston was ahead 45-43 with 7:39 remaining in the second period, before going on a 27-9 run to go up by 20, but took a 72-57 advantage into intermission.
Following a Tatum dunk with 4:19 left in the third quarter, the Celtics had their largest lead of the night (93-70). Brooklyn responded with a 23-6 run of their own that bled into the final frame -- which would be the closest they'd get the rest of the way.
With the deficit cut down to 99-93, Boston scored seven unanswered points en route to edge out the Nets 19-17 in the final 7:55 and secure the win.
The Celtics will continue their home-and-home Wednesday at TD Garden on the second night of a back-to-back in their final matchup before the All-Star break.
Game Notes:
Boston hit 51.8% of their field goal attempts, including 15-of-37 (40.5%) from 3-point range, while the Nets connected on 49.4% from the floor and 15-of-33 (45.5%) from long distance. The C's won the rebound battle 39-37 and outscored the home team in the paint 50-42.
The Celtics also dished out 31 assists (14 turnovers) on 43 baskets to Brooklyn's 28 dimes (12 turnovers) on 39 made shots.
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