Boston – Payton Pritchard scored 28 points to lead the Boston Celtics, leaders of the American Basketball League, to victory over the Brooklyn Nets 136-86 on Wednesday evening, becoming the third team in the history of the league to achieve multiple victories by 50 points in one season.
The win was also Joe Mazzola's 100th win as head coach.
Derrick White finished with 27 points, and Jayson Tatum added 20 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds for the Celtics, who beat the Nets in two straight games. It was the last game for both teams before the All-Star break.
“You can't operate on emotions, so regardless of whether we lose tonight and win five out of six or six out of six, you have a tendency to relax, you have a tendency to put it on cruise control,” Mazzola said. “So winning is no less dangerous than losing if you don’t handle it the right way.”
Boston will enter the break with the best record in the NBA at 43-12. The Celtics won 57-25 in Mazzola's first year as coach last season.
“I told the players, it's something to be proud of, it's something to be grateful for, and it's just a testament to the people you have around you,” Mazzola said of achieving 100 wins. “In a business where individual success is talked about every night, having a group of people you can share your success with is important.”
The Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers by 51 points on November 1. Boston joined the Sacramento Kings in the 1992-1993 season and the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1978-1979 season as the only two teams to achieve multiple victories by at least 50 points in one season.
It was the fifth 50-point win in team history.
Kristaps Porzingis believes Mazzola is not always appreciated, perhaps because it is his second season as coach. But he thinks he should.
“He's underappreciated as a coach. He's different. I think people don't really know who he is and how he coaches,” Porzingis said. “He deserves a lot of credit.”
Porzingis left the game in the first half with a sprained ankle and did not return. But he said that he was available in the second half, but he held out and the match was postponed.
Trendon Watford scored 15 points for the Nets, who lost five of their last six games. They trailed by as many as 56 points in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics were without All-Stars Jaylen Brown (bruised right shoulder) and Al Horford (sprained big toe), but they controlled the game throughout, quickly jumping out to a double-digit lead and blowing out a 37-point second quarter.
It rose to 46 points in third place.
Boston's starters sat out for the entire final period.
The Nets saw a player return from injury for the second night in a row, this time getting Cam Johnson back after missing four games with a pulled adductor muscle. He came off the bench and made his debut late in the first quarter. He played 18 minutes and finished with four points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Johnson's presence wasn't nearly enough to slow down a Boston team that shot over 64% in the opening period and hit 22 of 44 3-pointers in the game.
“It's a great reminder… that we have work to do,” Nets coach Jack Vaughn said. “We have to be okay doing the work. But I believe this team can do the work. So use this as a reminder that we had a good chance tonight and it won't get easier after the break. But we have the challenge to face.”
Boston's 68-32 lead at halftime was its largest since January 13, 2010, when it held a 36-point lead over the New Jersey Nets. Brooklyn's 34 points on Wednesday marked a season low in the first half.
the next
Window: At the Raptors on February 22.
Celtics: At the Bulls on February 22.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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