Celtics beat Nets to move above .500 for the 1st time this season
Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Payton Pritchard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-99 on Tuesday night to move above .500 for the first time this season.
Derrick White added 15 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight game to improve to 8-7. They played the Nets even for about three quarters before smothering them defensively in the fourth, allowing just one basket for the first 10 minutes of the period.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points for the Nets, his career-best seventh straight game with at least 20. But after his 3-pointer gave Brooklyn a 90-89 lead with 9:08 left, the Nets didn’t make another basket until 1:56 remained.
Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points for the Nets, who fell to 2-12 overall and 0-7 at home.
The Celtics started the season 0-3 and then won their next three. They dropped the next two games and hadn’t gotten their record back to even again until beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Porter had 18 points at halftime and Pritchard scored 17. The teams combined for 22 2-pointers and 21 3-pointers in the first half, which ended with Boston leading 62-61.
The Celtics opened their first double-digit cushion when Brown followed a three-point play with a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 burst and make it 75-65 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the third. Brooklyn cut it to one late in the period before Brown made another 3-pointer to send the Celtics to the fourth with an 89-85 edge.
With the Celtics leading 97-92, they chased down three missed shots on one possession to set up White’s 3-pointer. After a Brooklyn free throw, he made another 3 to make it 103-93. Brown’s 3 with 2:55 left capped an 18-3 run to make it 107-93.
Cooper Flagg's mother sparks buzz about future Mavericks dream duo
After showing clear signs of rookie growing pains, Cooper Flagg has been on fire in the past four games, averaging 19.8 points per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the field. It seems like he's finally transitioning from the sensational Duke kid to the star everyone was hoping for. Flagg only had one season with his star teammate, Kon Knueppel, who's having the time of his life with the Charlotte Hornets, but Cooper Flagg's mom, Kelly, seems to be on board with the two reuniting again.
After a post on 'X' in regards to the NBA Rookie of the Year race, the odds have Knueppel surging in the race, passing Philadelphia 76ers rookie V.J. Edgecombe. Flagg's mom responded by making light of the situation to tie it back to her son in hopes that the two former Blue Devils will reunite one day.
"He is an amazing young man and player," Kelly said. "Would love him in Dallas!"
Cooper Flagg's mother pushes for Knueppel in Dallas for a Duke reunion
Of course, both respective rookies will be experimenting in the NBA with the teams that drafted them, and if the Hornets know what they're doing, they will keep Knueppel happy. If the Hornets are unable to build with their young pieces in a few years, we can see the Mavs push for Knueppel to come to Dallas.
It seems we could see a reunion with the Blue Devils one day, as Flagg and Knueppel were roommates, and that bond will never go away. This obviously won't be anything this year or even next year, but Knueppel and Flagg might have some unfinished business together. They lost a heartbreaker against Houston in the 2025 Final Four, after what looked to be a lock for Duke to appear in the championship game.
Knueppel, at 6-foot-6, plays taller than he looks. He's averaging nearly 17.6 points a game and grabbing six rebounds a game. Flagg and Knueppel on the court together looked like the best duo in college basketball last year, but they only had one year together to take home the ultimate prize.
Flagg and Knueppel were also some of the best shooters in college basketball last year, with both guys shooting around 48 percent from the field. Knueppel shot 41 percent from deep in his only year with Duke.
Flagg's mother has already been active this season by causing a media frenzy during the dismissal of Nico Harrison. Kelly's words about the "Fire Nico" chants were taken out of context, and she only wanted to limit distractions for the Mavericks. Let's hope that happens, and let's hope Flagg is treated with more respect than Luka Doncic was.
It shouldn't be in the cards for Flagg to be traded, and if so, then something is seriously wrong with the Mavs organization. The Mavs are holding most of the cards for the future, and the Hornets are trying to escape rebuilding. We may just see Knueppel's time in Charlotte end when his rookie contract expires.
It's unfortunate that we only got to see one year of Flagg and Knueppel together, but crazier things have happened in the NBA before. It's more likely to see Knueppel join the Mavericks than Flagg join the Hornets, but we'll have to wait some time to see if that happens.
