Baylor Scheierman scored a career-high 20 points (18 on 6 3-pointers), and the defending champion Boston Celtics went on a 20-8 run in the fourth quarter to beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-96.
The Nets led 80-78 when Scheierman’s corner 3-pointer put the Celtics ahead for good with 7:08 left. He made 3 3-pointers and Kristaps Porziņģis added 6 as they pulled away to a 98-88 lead with 1:37 left.
During clutch time, the Celtics outscored the Nets 8-0. Porziņģis scored 4 of the Celtics’ 8 on 2 for 2 shooting. In the fourth quarter, Jrue Holiday had 2 of his 3 steals, and the Celtics scored 3 points off them.
Porziņģis had 25 points, a season-high 13 rebounds and 3 blocks on 9 for 13 shooting.
For the Nets, D'Angelo Russell had 18 points (12 on 4 3-pointers) and 7 assists but shot 6 for 18.
The Celtics shot 44.3% from the field and 33.3% from 3 to the Nets’ 40.9% and 28.9%. The Nets got 8 offensive rebounds, about 5 fewer than usual for the shots they missed.