Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics Match Player Stats On Apr 10, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Apr 10, 2017

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics clinched the Atlantic Division title and kept alive their hopes for the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 114-105 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

The victory, which completed a four-game sweep of the season series with the Nets -- who will provide Boston with one of the top picks in the 2017 draft -- moved the Celtics (52-29) a game ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers (51-30) atop the conference.

Thanks to the Cavs' overtime loss in Miami on Monday, if the Celtics win at home against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, Boston would clinch the East's No. 1 playoff seed.

Despite Brooklyn's loss, Brook Lopez scored 25 points and became the Nets' all-time scoring leader, passing Buck Williams.

Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points, Al Horford had 19 and the pair combined for the final 15 Boston points over the last 4:41. Horford grabbed eight rebounds and added four assists.

Boston's Avery Bradley scored 18 points, Marcus Smart had 13 points and six assists, Jae Crowder 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Kelly Olynyk 11 points and six boards.

The Celtics built a 27-point lead in the third quarter, but a 37-point quarter and then another charge in the fourth got the Nets, who scored 40 in the first half, to within six in the fourth. Runs of 12-0 and 9-0 got them there.

Jeremy Lin, a former Harvard star playing on Chinese Heritage Night at TD Garden, scored 26 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored a career-high 17 points and had 11 rebounds.

The Nets lost for the second time in six games.

The Celtics improved to 24-0 when leading after three quarters at home.

NOTES: Celtics coach Brad Stevens, on the importance of securing the top seed in the conference: "The most important thing is tonight's game. That's the way I'm looking at it. Whatever seed we get, we get -- and that'll be a result of an 82-game schedule, not the result of one or two games." ... The Nets were missing Gs Sean Kilpatrick (hamstring) and Joe Harris (shoulder) and F Quincy Acy (ankle). All three will also miss Wednesday's night's season finale at Chicago. ... Nets coach Kenny Atkinson on Boston G Isaiah Thomas: "Just thinking about his evolution since he got here, how much he's improved and how he fits into the system, he's a scouting nightmare, trying to figure out how to get him under control. He's the head of the snake. Just really a credit to the Celtics and credit to him. He just keeps getting better." ... Thomas extended his club record with a 3-pointer in his 56th straight game.