The Big Three-less Boston Celtics (3-1) defeated the Nets (0-4) 91-88 tonight at the first-ever basketball game at the Prudential Center in Newark.
- The Nets completely fell apart in the second half tonight, and specifically the fourth quarter after scoring 60 points and being up at 13 at the half. They were outscored 21-11 in the 4th against a Celtics team that was Rajon Rondo, Glen Davis and not much else.
- Courtney Lee had a great game in his first start of the preseason with 21 points on 7-12 shooting and 2-3 from three-point land.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts and Brook Lopez continued their strong preseasons. CDR, getting the start at SF, had 19 points and is now averaging 18.0 points in four preseason games. Lopez had 17 points, 10 boards and 3 blocked shots.
- The Celtics PF duo of Rasheed Wallace and Glen Davis combined for 38 points and 12 boards.
- The Nets allowed the Celtics to grab 14 offensive rebounds, including a key one by Davis in the closing seconds on a Rajon Rondo FT miss.
- The team as advertised at full strength before the game, but Devin Harris and Yi Jianlian both left at halftime with injuries. Devin’s has been described as a groin strain and Yi a shoulder strain.
- The Prudential Center, in it’s basketball debut, had close to 13,000 Dave D’Alessandro at the Star-Ledger is reporting.
The Nets travel to Madison Square Garden on Friday for a preseason game agains the Knicks.
Update: Devin Harris is calling the groin strain mild, Dave D’Alessandro is reporting. He should be back by the weekend.
