Self-critical Jaylen Brown, Celtics go for another win vs. Nets

Jaylen Brown is hoping to rebound from a 29-point performance in his last game when the Boston Celtics complete a home-and-home series against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

Yes, you read that correctly. Brown wasn't too happy with his effort on Tuesday despite leading his team in scoring for the 12th time in 15 games during the Celtics' 113-99 road victory over the Nets.

So, what went wrong?

For starters, Brown committed eight of Boston's season-high 20 turnovers, and his careless play in the early going earned him an extended seat on the bench.

"I was just playing like (expletive) in the first half. Honestly, turning the ball over, et cetera," the four-time All-Star said. "So (it) just took a minute for me to figure it out, but I picked it up to close the game. But (I've) got to come out to a better start in the first half, especially in the first quarter. The team feeds off me, I know that, so I've got to be better."

Payton Pritchard sank five 3-pointers to finish with 22 points. He also had 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who tightened up defensively in the second half and limited the Nets to 14 points in the final quarter.

"You take a look at the tale of two halves and how the game's connected," Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla said. "(The Nets) had 25 points in transition and we had 12 first-half turnovers. When you give them that, they're a good team and they beat you. We only had (seven) turnovers in the second half -- did a much better job in that department, kept them out of transition, and we were able to execute."

As a result, the Celtics matched their season-high winning streak at three games and moved above .500 for the first time in 2025-26.

"It feels good to be over .500, but we gotta go home now and we gotta get this one on Friday," Pritchard said. "That's the main focus. We gotta keep this going, and every game is gonna be a battle, so keep chipping away at it and keep getting better and better."

Brooklyn's Michael Porter Jr. finished with 25 points on Tuesday, marking his career-best seventh consecutive contest with at least 20 points.

Alas, Porter knows the Nets are young and growing pains will happen.

"We got a young team, and we're newly playing together, and I think (the Celtics have) just been in so many situations in the fourth quarter as a group, that they kind of knew how to execute down the stretch, and we're still figuring that out," Porter said. "I think we made strides, but I think we got to get organized and on the same page."

Day'Ron Sharpe collected 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

Nic Claxton had a game-high 11 rebounds to offset a dismal shooting performance. The center made 1 of 9 shots -- all two-point attempts -- to finish with seven points on Tuesday.

--Field Level Media