NETS GAMENIGHT: #Nets @ #Celtics

BROOKLYN NETS (19-22) @ BOSTON CELTICS (15-30)

TD Garden 6:30

TV: YES/ESPN – RADIO: WFAN 660/101.9

[quote_simple]NETS STARTERS
The starting lineup tonight will be  Shaun Livingston playing alongside Alan Anderson in the backcourt with Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce up front and the man in the middle Kevin Garnett.

Brooklyn pulled out their seventh straight win at home on Friday night when the defeated the Dallas Mavericks 107-106 behind a stellar game from Mirza Teletovic who scored a career-high 34 points while putting on a show.

The Nets beat the Celtics in Brooklyn 104-96 in early December when Boston was playing way over their heads and have since cooled off and are 15 games below the .500 mark.

This will be an emotional game with Pierce and Garnett returning to Boston for the first time so the Nets need to pick up the slack for their new teammates and come away with the win to extend their winning streak to five straight games and creep closer to .500.

[box]Injury News: No news is good news

Deron Williams came off the bench for the third straight game and played 34 minutes in the win over Dallas and scored 18 points to go with his 11 assists in the win.  There has been no word yet as to when Williams will return to the starting lineup.

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CELTICS STARTERS

The Celtics starting lineup will be Rajon Rondo and Gerald Wallace in the backcourt with Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger and  Brandon Bass playing in the frontcourt.

The Celtics just lost to the shorthanded Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night 101-83 and did not look good in the process. The Thunder played without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and still manhandled the Celtics on their home floor.

Rondo had five points and eight assists in 21 minutes as he continues to be limited by a minute restriction and Avery Bradley is out with a sprained ankle so the point guard position is in disarray for Boston.

The Celtics are 3-16 in their last 19 games.

[quote_simple][box]Game Notes:

If Brooklyn wins their 10th game in their first 11 in January it would be the second straight season the Nets would start January 10-1.

The Nets are looking for their third straight victory over the Celtics.

In D-Will’s last two games, he’s averaging 13.5 points on 50.0% shooting and 10.0 assists per game with only two turnovers.

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[box]WHAT TO LOOK FOR

The RETURN

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett make their long awaited return to Boston after the blockbuster trade this past summer.

Pierce spent all 15 of his previous seasons with Boston while Garnett was there for six seasons. Together they led the team to its 17th NBA championship in 2008.They made it back to the finals in 2010, but lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the seventh game.

The return should be emotional for both and the Celtics will probably roll out the red carpet for both legends with plenty of video tributes during timeouts so the focus from their new Nets teammates needs to be stellar to help them both to a victory in their return.

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[box]INJURY REPORT

NETS

Brook Lopez  – OUT (ankle)

CELTICS

Avery Bradley – OUT (sprained right ankle)

Jerryd Bayless – day-to-day (sprained right big toe)

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