Celtics own customary Atlantic Division lead as they visit Nets

During their first month without Jayson Tatum and his injured Achilles tendon, the Boston Celtics hovered around the .500 mark.

Since those opening weeks of life without their perennial first-team All-NBA star, the Celtics have ascended to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. Their next stop is Friday's visit to New York to face the Brooklyn Nets, who are coming off one of the worst losses in team history.

Boston has gone 17-7 since a four-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 29 left them at 10-9. That includes a run of 13 wins in 16 games from Nov. 30 to Jan. 5. Though the Celtics have split their past eight games, they have capitalized on the New York Knicks' recent faltering to vault into the Atlantic Division lead.

"We're halfway through the season, and we're second in the East," Celtics wing Jaylen Brown said. "So that's just a testament to the work ethic, the resiliency of our head coach, and leadership. It's a testament to where we are right now."

The Celtics won for the third time in four games when they built a 20-point halftime lead in Wednesday's 119-104 home victory over the Indiana Pacers. Brown scored 30 points and has scored at least 25 in nine of his past 10 games, including a 50-point showing on Jan. 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Brown has averaged 31.3 points over his past 20 games and his 11-of-22 shooting against the Pacers marked the 19th time he shot at least 50% this season. Brown also has been getting to the foul line more recently. He has taken 51 free-throw attempts in his past six games while the Celtics are averaging 25.5 free-throw tries over their past four contests.

Brown scored 29 points on Nov. 18 when the Celtics pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 113-99 win in Brooklyn. The Nets responded with a 113-105 win three days later at Boston, but the Celtics have won 15 of the last 17 regular-season meetings.

After winning seven of 10 from Dec. 1-27, the Nets are on a 2-11 slide.

Six of those losses were by double digits, but none were as lopsided as Wednesday's 120-66 loss to the Knicks. The Nets endured their second-largest defeat in team history and scored fewer than 70 points for the 22nd time in franchise history. They finished with their lowest point total since a 90-65 loss to the Miami Heat on March 12, 2005.

"This was a tough one, but show up the next day and have positive energy and work and get better and go out there and compete," Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez said afterward. "I have to help them better, players are not responsible for it, so I got to make sure that they understand the values that we have and how we want to play, and we'll work together."

Brooklyn's starts to games remain an issue. The Nets trailed 38-20 through the first 12 minutes on Wednesday, they have been outscored 117-68 in their past three opening quarters and have trailed by double digits entering the second quarter six times in this 13-game stretch.

Michael Porter Jr. was held to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting by the Knicks. He has converted 41.4% from the floor over his past six games while dealing with a sprained knee he sustained in a Jan. 7 loss to the Orlando Magic when he scored 34 points.

--Field Level Media