It was a promising matchup between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets that was supposed to easily be the game of the night. With Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons out for the Nets and the two best players on the Celtics, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both healthy, it seemed inevitable that the game could get out of hand. Sure enough, the Celtics ended up being 8-point home favorites with a 19-6 home record, leading the league-wide 36-15 overall.

Kyrie Irving was tasked with trying to keep the game competitive on his own but was met with the Celtics' strong defense. Brooklyn has had difficulty playing without Durant, having a 5-6 record and a 119.0 Defensive Rating, down from 112.4 when he was playing.

The first quarter ended in Boston's favor with a 46-16 lead, the biggest first quarter lead in Celtics history and the second-worst quarter for