Celtics vs. Nets score, takeaways: Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum lead Boston to easy win over Nets

The Nets couldn't keep up the momentum after beating the Bucks

So much for a Brooklyn revival. A day after stunning the Bucks in a historic regular-season upset, the Nets got absolutely demolished by a Boston Celtics team coming off of an ugly loss to the Miami Heat. The final score? Celtics 149, Nets 115. Boston made 20 of their 39 3-point attempts and got to the line for 35 total free-throws. Offense just doesn't get any easier than that. Jaylen Brown led the way with 21 points. Jayson Tatum dropped 19 in 18 minutes. Just about everyone in green and white got in on the fun. 

Jeremiah Martin led the way for the Nets with 20 points, but the majority of those came in garbage time. That is a phrase you should expect to hear quite a bit with the Nets in their remaining games. Their defense was a complete and utter disaster, so the odds of them hanging with any of the playoff teams remaining on their schedule are pretty slim. They got their feel-good win against Milwaukee, but it's going to be a long few weeks for the Nets otherwise. Here's what you need to know about Wednesday's blowout. 

The Celtics found a new weapon

Robert Williams has always been talented enough to contribute to a winner. But injuries and mental mistakes have limited his actual ability to do so. He has hardly played this season, and has never contributed more than 11 points. Well, tonight he had 18 on 7-of-7 shooting while contributing on defense and giving the Celtics five rebounds. 

Daniel Theis is going to get the bulk of the center minutes when it counts, and Enes Kanter is still very much a part of the rotation. But neither can match Williams athletically as a roller or rim-protecting. The Celtics have high hopes for Williams, and they finally seem to be paying off with this performance tonight. 

It looks like Boston will keep the No. 3 seed

Miami made a strong push for the No. 3 seed in the early going in Orlando, and Boston's two early losses at least made it a possibility. The Heat beat the Celtics on Tuesday to cut their lead down to 1.5 games with five to play, but this win pushes that lead back up to two games. Never say never, but the odds of Boston giving up that much ground that quickly likely assures now that they will enter the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 3 seed.

The bubble is chaos incarnate

The Nets beat the Bucks on Tuesday. It was the biggest upset in decades from a point-spread perspective. Then they got absolutely waxed by Boston tonight despite both being on the second night of a back-to-back. Boston, meanwhile, lost to Miami without Jimmy Butler, suggesting that they were vulnerable to a team lacking its top talent. They dominated this one. There is no trend at play with the Nets here. Neither this game nor the Bucks win means much. It's the any given Sunday effect. 

Don't take any single game in the bubble too seriously. This is chaos, pure and simple. Yes, the Nets have looked good in moments, but this is still a team destined for an early postseason exit. Boston, meanwhile, is still in good shape to contend meaningfully for a championship. But on the right day, as we saw Tuesday, anything is possible in Orlando. 

[Aug 5, 2020 at 11:37 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

And that's a wrap. Celtics 149, Nets 115. No, that isn't a typo.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 11:34 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

That's 20 3-pointers for Boston. They could've won this game with half as many.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 11:22 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Musa goes coast-to-coast... and then misses the rim on the finish.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 11:21 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Nice 6-0 run for Brooklyn. They now trail by... 27.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 11:19 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Someone tell the Celtics they don't get a bonus if they win by 50.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 11:12 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Idea: what if they switched the scores and we see if the Celtics could make up 28 points in 10 minutes? Or would that be too easy for Boston?

[Aug 5, 2020 at 11:05 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Score: Celtics a lot, Nets a little.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 10:58 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

The Celtics have lapped the Nets from behind the arc. Boston shooting 48%; Nets 23%.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 10:56 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Jayson Tatum could make that left wing 3-pointer blindfolded.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 10:55 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Good work by Mark Jackson roasting Jeff Van Gundy for his treatment of Mr. Pickles, an innocent puppy that does not deserve this sort of national humiliation.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 10:53 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Virtual Mark Jackson is getting interviewed by the network that employs actual Mark Jackson, and could presumably summon him in person rather easily.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 10:49 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

The Celtics have the lead back up to 24. Too easy on that one.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 10:49 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

Look at Mark Jackson campaigning for that Nets job by being one of their virtual fans.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 10:47 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

There's another above-the-break 3 attempt from Theis. This one doesn't fall, but again, the Nets are giving that one up freely.

[Aug 5, 2020 at 10:45 pm ET · Sam Quinn]

You've gotta love the activity the Nets play with, at the very least. They're taking this game seriously.