The Celtics snap a two-game skid and earn a victory in their opening tourney game.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t have any extra discussion with his team about its first In-Season Tournament game. It was just 1 of 82 games as far as he was concerned.
His team sure played like it mattered a little more.
Jaylen Brown scored 28 points, making five of his team’s 19 3-pointers, to lead Boston to a 121-107 win over the Brooklyn Nets 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 tourney opener.
“It’s a learning curve. We’re still figuring stuff out. … Learning from one another, » Brown said. « Long season to go, and it’s all about building trust, building chemistry out there. “
Boston’s bench, which had struggled in back-to-back losses, contributed 37 points, getting 15 from Sam Hauser and 13 from Payton Pritchard.
Mazzulla said Pritchard’s impact was felt all over the court.
“To me, he changed the game for us,” Mazzulla said. “It’s easy to look at the scoring on the bench and feel like they’re not producing. But it’s so much other stuff that they do for us on a daily basis.
