Nets' win streak ends at four with 91-84 loss to Celtics

Brooklyn looked to extend their win streak to five against a Celtics team that had won seven of its last 30 games. The Nets came out with a pathetic effort, and fell to Boston 91-84, ending the win streak at four.

The Nets got off to a slow start in the first quarter. They shot 40 percent from the field, but were 0-9 from behind the three point line. Not only did they shoot poorly, they couldn't grab a rebound. The Celtics out-rebounded the Nets 15-3 in the quarter, and that allowed Boston to take a 26-20 lead after one.

As if the first quarter wasn't ugly enough, it was more of the same in the second quarter as the Nets went into the half trailing by 12. The Boston lead grew to be 17 at one point, but the Nets were able to respond a bit to cut it. Rajon Rondo was putting on an absolute display in the half, putting up 16 of his 20 points. For a guy who "can't shoot," he sure did shoot the ball incredibly well. He was 5/8 from the field, including 3/4 from behind the three point line.

The Brooklyn shooting took a huge hit in the second quarter. They ended the half shooting just 34.1 percent from the field, and they failed to convert on any of their 17 first half three point attempts. Most notably, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Marcus Thornton missed a combined 11 of those 17 attempts. It was pretty much déjà vu of the first quarter. As well as the poor shooting, the Nets continued getting out-rebounded. Boston continued thrashing them on the glass, and out-rebounded Brooklyn 12-11 in the second quarter. That put them at a 27-14 advantage on the glass in the half.

It took long enough, but the Nets finally decided to show up to the game in the third quarter. Led by Joe Johnson and Deron Williams, the Nets found themselves cutting an 18 point lead all the way down to two in the third. They went on an 11-0 run to pull themselves back into the game, but it was stopped when Shaun Livingston committed a silly foul on Jeff Green, who also made the shot. The Celtics' lead was eight headed into the fourth, 78-70.

The Nets came out in the fourth quarter the same way they did in the first half. Lazy effort on both ends allowed the Celtics to increase their lead back up to double-digits, and that was the unofficial end to the game. The Nets out-scored the Celtics 14-13 in the fourth, but the Celtics still took them down 91-84.

Joe Johnson led the Nets with 21 points on 9/21 shooting from the field. Deron Williams added 20 points and four assists, and has continued to play like the D-Will of old since the All-Star break. Paul Pierce and Mason Plumlee each added 10 points of their own.

Final Score: 91-84 Celtics
Most Disappointing Stat of the Game: Nets shot 4/30 from the three point line
Most Impressive Stat of the Game: Nets force 25 Celtic turnovers.
Scariest Moment of the Game: Ummmm... The first half and the fourth quarter...
Best Moment of the Game: Andrei Kirilenko doing Andrei Kirilenko things
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