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Celtics Desk:

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Boston Celtics at New York Knicks

When: 3:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 1, 2019
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

NEW YORK – The Boston Celtics are suddenly struggling for wins on the road and will try to escape New York with a victory when they visit the Knicks this afternoon. The Celtics fell 112-107 in Brooklyn on Friday to lose for the fourth time in their last five games on the road — including three straight — following a 5-1 start away from home.

Celtics vs Knicks Highlights (House of Highlights)

“That start of the game really hurt us,” coach Brad Stevens told reporters after his team fell behind by as many as 12 points in the first quarter. “I thought Brooklyn was more ready probably than we were and they really punched us in the mouth.” Boston already has two wins against the Knicks this season, including a 23-point rout at Madison Square Garden, and it will catch a New York team that doesn’t seem to be any closer to figuring things out. The Knicks started fast at home against Philadelphia on Friday before fading in 101-95 setback, their fifth straight overall. Julius Randle recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for his eighth double-double.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, NBCS Boston, MSG (New York)

ABOUT THE CELTICS (13-5): After combining for 61 points in a win over the Nets on Wednesday at home, guards Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown had just 25 total at Brooklyn, shooting 10-for-27 from the floor. Jayson Tatum, who had missed all 12 of his 3-point tries over his previous three games, hit 4-of-8 in Friday’s loss en route to 26 points. Tatum capped a 24-point effort in the last meeting with the Knicks by hitting a tie-breaking jumper with 1.3 seconds left in a 104-102 win.

ABOUT THE KNICKS (4-15): Aside from the loss of an early 16-point lead, the other notable development at Madison Square Garden on Friday was the decision not to play second-year forward Kevin Knox, one of the presumed building blocks and a guy who had appeared in every game in which he was healthy to this point in his career. “The flow of the game,” Knicks coach David Fizdale told reporters when asked why Knox didn’t play. “But by no means is Kevin buried. He’s going to have to fight his way out of it. I got a lot of confidence that he will.” The 20-year-old Knox is averaging 6.2 points on 35.1 percent shooting in November after posting 12.0 on 44.2 percent in October.

BUZZER BEATERS

  1. Boston PG Brad Wanamaker is 9-for-14 from the floor — 3-for-3 from 3-point range — over his last two games since going 0-for-8 in a win over Sacramento on Monday.
  2. Knicks F Marcus Morris reached the 20-point mark for the 11th time this season in Friday’s loss after doing so 10 times last season with the Celtics.
  3. Boston has won four straight meetings, as well as four in a row at New York.

PREDICTION: Celtics 108, Knicks 99

Not Today In Brooklyn

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Brooklyn 112, Boston 107

When: 12:00 PM ET, Friday, November 29, 2019
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Attendance: 17,732
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

BROOKLYN – Spencer Dinwiddie collected 32 points and 11 assists as the Brooklyn Nets led most of the way and recorded a 112-107 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday afternoon in the borough of Brooklyn..

Celtics at Nets (House of Highlights/Youtube)

The Nets improved to 6-2 without Kyrie Irving, who continued to recover from a right shoulder impingement. After getting treatment Wednesday when the Nets lost 121-110 in Boston, Irving watched from the bench as Dinwiddie continued to produce.

Dinwiddie posted his eighth career game with 30 points and third career game with at least 30 points and 10 assists. He shot 10 of 19 and hit six 3-pointers as Brooklyn shot 46.2 percent, made 17 3-pointers and recorded its third straight home win over Boston.

According to basketball-reference.com, Dinwiddie became the first Nets’ player to get 30 points and 10 assists since Stephon Marbury on Feb. 8, 2000, at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., and the fifth player in franchise history to do so.

Jayson Tatum scored 26 to lead the Celtics, who are 2-4 since their 10-game winning streak.

Dinwiddie reached 30 points for the third time this season when he hit a corner 3-pointer with eight minutes left to give Brooklyn a 100-87 lead. He then connected with DeAndre Jordan on an alley-oop dunk 46 seconds later for a 102-87 edge, and Brooklyn (10-9) made enough plays down the stretch to go back over .500 for the second time this season.

The Celtics were within 111-107 on a layup by Kemba Walker with 28.8 seconds left but Garrett Temple hit a free throw with 12.1 seconds left to ice it and the game ended after Walker and Marcus Smart missed 3-pointers in the final seconds.

All five starters reached double figures for the Nets, who overcame committing 20 turnovers.

Taurean Prince added 16, Jarrett Allen contributed 14 and 11 boards while Temple and Joe Harris chipped in 12 apiece.

Two nights after scoring 39 points, Walker was held to 17 on 6-of-19 shooting and missed seven of eight from 3-point range.

The Nets sprinted to a 14-point lead late in the opening quarter and settled for a 58-55 lead after Tatum hit two late 3-pointers. The Nets ripped off a 16-4 run to and held an 83-69 lead with 3:54 left in the third after Dinwiddie hit three free throws after hitting 3-pointers on the previous two possessions.

Boston countered with 14-4 spurt and was within 87-81 going into the fourth but consecutive 3-pointers by Temple pushed Brooklyn’s lead to 95-85 a little over two minutes into the fourth.

–Field Level Media

Home and Home

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Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets

When: 12:00 PM ET, Friday, November 29, 2019
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

BROOKLYN – The drama surrounding Kyrie Irving and Boston is not going away anytime soon. But, at least it should be tempered a bit when the Celtics visit the Brooklyn Nets today in the back half of a home-and-home set. With Irving missing his seventh straight game and not traveling with the team, the Nets on Wednesday faced a vocal Boston crowd that took every opportunity to call out the star guard, who had a disappointing two-year stint with the Celtics before signing with Brooklyn this offseason.

Nets at Celtics (House of Highlights/Youtube)

His replacement in Boston, Kemba Walker, was the catalyst in the Celtics’ 121-110 win with a season-high 39 points in his first game back from a neck injury, helping Boston improve to 7-0 at home. “I’ve been over it. I could have played last game, honestly,” Walker told reporters of the injury. “If I’m on the court, I’m on the court. I wasn’t thinking about anything (but) wanting to win.”

Back home in New York, Irving posted a lengthy comment on Instagram, calling sports and entertainment “ignorant and obtrusive.” The commentary figures to be his only contribution this week, as the six-time All-Star does not have a timetable for his return to the court.

TV: Noon ET, NBC Sports Boston, YES (Brooklyn)

ABOUT THE CELTICS (13-4): Walker, who left a game in Denver on a stretcher last Friday with the neck injury, missed just one contest and showed no ill effects versus the Nets, making 13-of-24 shots in 31 minutes. “For him to be playing, and even feeling fresh, five days later is very fortunate,” coach Brad Stevens told reporters. “It’s good to see.” Backup point guard Brad Wanamaker got into the act as well with 13 points in 19 minutes two nights after going 0-for-8 from the floor in a win over Sacramento.

ABOUT THE NETS (9-9): Brooklyn fell to 5-2 without Irving with Friday’s loss as fill-in starter Spencer Dinwiddie was held under 20 points for the first time in that span while shooting 5-for-19 from the floor. He did have a season-high 11 assists and fellow guards Joe Harris and Garrett Temple both hit the 20-point mark for Brooklyn, which was outrebounded 55-38. Jarrett Allen did his best to contend on the boards with 14 rebounds to go along with 17 points for his third straight double-double.

BUZZER BEATERS

  1. The Nets had season highs in made 3-pointers (21) and 3-point attempts (56) in Friday’s loss.
  2. Celtics SG Jaylen Brown has scored at least 22 points in three straight games and in seven of the last 10.
  3. Boston SF Jayson Tatum has missed all 12 of his 3-point tries over the past three contests.

PREDICTION: Celtics 112, Nets 110

Kemba’s Back

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Boston Celtics 121, Brooklyn Nets 110

When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 19,156
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

BOSTON – Kemba Walker scored a season-high 39 points in his return from a neck sprain as the host Boston Celtics held off the Kyrie Irving-less Brooklyn Nets 121-110 on Wednesday night.

Nets at Celtics (House of Highlights/Youtube)

Jaylen Brown had 22 points and 10 rebounds as six Celtics scored in double figures. Boston won for the third time in its last five games.

The Nets also placed six scorers in double figures, led by Garrett Temple and Joe Harris with 22 and 21, respectively. Despite hitting 21 3-pointers as a team, Brooklyn’s four-game winning streak came to an end.

Jarrett Allen (17 points, 14 rebounds) and Spencer Dinwiddie (16 points, 11 assists) each had double-doubles for the Nets.

Irving, who played for the Celtics the past two seasons, missed what would have been his first game back in Boston and his seventh straight contest with a shoulder injury. Walker, meanwhile, missed just one game after getting stretchered off the court with his injury on Friday in Denver.

Walker had 30 points — including 13 apiece in the second and third quarters — as the Celtics carried a five-point lead into the final 12 minutes. Boston grabbed the game’s first double-digit advantage, 99-89, on a Brad Wanamaker layup with 9:07 remaining.

The Nets got within three, 104-101, on Temple’s sixth 3-pointer with 5:28 left, but Walker responded with a 3 as the Celtics used an 8-1 run to restore order.

A Walker basket made it 119-108 with 1:51 left, and the Boston lead grew as high as 13 down the stretch.

Trailing by six at the break, the Celtics roared back to knot the score at 75 on a Walker three-point play with 6:39 left in the third. Boston ended the quarter on a 9-3 run to lead 91-86 entering the fourth.

The Nets drained 10 3-pointers in a 40-point second quarter and led 60-51 with 2:03 to go. The Celtics got back in it with 3s by Brown and Walker, but Dinwiddie answered with a 3 as the Nets entered the half up 63-57.

Temple led Brooklyn with 16 points. Walker had 17 for Boston.

The Celtics held a 30-23 lead after one.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Pride

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Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics

When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Mass
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

BOSTON – The much-anticipated return of Kyrie Irving to Boston won’t happen due to an injury to the star guard, but his replacement is stealing all the headlines anyway. The red-hot Spencer Dinwiddie leads the Nets into a matchup Wednesday night at the Celtics in the first half of a home-and-home set between the Atlantic Division rivals.

Dinwiddie, who has led Brooklyn to a 5-1 record since Irving went down with a shoulder injury, won NBA Player of the Week honors for the Eastern Conference on Monday and then went out and capped a 23-point performance with a jumper with 1.9 seconds left to defeat Cleveland 108-106. “Spencer Dinwiddie just put on a clinic of how to keep your team under control and make the next right play,”

Cavaliers coach John Beilein told reporters. “They did a great job.” Like the Nets, the Celtics have responded well to Irving’s absence by racing out a 12-4 record after a thrilling 103-102 win over Sacramento on Monday. Boston played its first game without star guard Kemba Walker (neck), who is expected to return soon.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT THE NETS (9-8): Brooklyn’s four-game winning streak has pushed the team over .500 for the first time, and it’s been Dinwiddie and center Jarrett Allen — who tied a season high with 22 points and set a new one with 21 rebounds in Monday’s win — carrying the load. “They just keep getting better. They got better as the game went on,” coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters of Dinwiddie and Allen. “Jarrett Allen is playing fantastic. The rebounds are a pleasant surprise, catching it in the half-roll, he had a couple nice passes. … It’s just how connected these guys are.” Allen is averaging 18.3 points on 75.7 percent shooting from the field to go along with 14.3 rebounds during the winning streak.

ABOUT THE CELTICS (12-4): With Walker out and backup point guard Brad Wanamaker going 0-for-8 from the floor, Boston relied on Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown to survive Monday’s contest. Smart had 17 points, seven rebounds and a season-high five steals while Brown scored 24 points as the new-look squad showed it can triumph without its floor general. “It’s one game,” Brown told reporters. “We’ve just got to find ways to win. We’ll welcome Kemba back when he’s healthy. Let him rest up. We’re just holding it down for him and (forward Gordon Hayward) until they make their return. It’s great to find ways to win, even with injuries.”

BUZZER BEATERS

  1. Hayward (hand) has started to shoot again and is on track to return in about a month.
  2. The teams split four meetings last season as the home team won each time.
  3. Brooklyn hosts Boston on Friday and then the teams won’t meet again until March 3.

PREDICTION: Celtics 108, Nets 103

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