VIDEO – FINAL: #Celtics 80 – #Nets 82

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Updated: October 16, 2013

The Brooklyn Nets beat the Boston Celtics last night by a score of 82-80 at the Barclays Center and saw quote a few familiar faces in the process.

Last night was a bit of a reunion for some Nets and Celtics as well.   This marked the first time both teams played each other since the blockbuster trade in July that sent two hall of famers to Brooklyn in exchange for roster flexibility for Boston.

Kevin Garnett was held out of the game due to the back-to-back situation Jason Kidd is implementing and the Nets played the night before in Philadelphia.

Paul Pierce played and ended up with four points on 1-for-6 shooting, 10 rebounds, five assists and had a few things to say after the emotional game.

[quote_box]“It was just tough looking over there, seeing the green and me not in it,” Pierce said. “But you know, I’m here in Brooklyn now, moved on and it’s time to get better. Tonight we took a step forward in getting better and it’s just the preseason, but hey, we got the win.

It’s definitely gonna be a lot different when I get into the Garden, the first time I go to Boston, because you’ve played your entire career there, made so many friends, so it’s definitely gonna be emotional. [/quote_box]

The game itself was not a picture of beauty like the previous game in Philly although the Nets did fight for the win and pulled it out with the bench players in the end.  The game was sloppy, Nets had 21 turnovers compared to the Celtics 22, and there was numerous uncontested layups and fast break dunks made on the porous Nets transition defense.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 20 points and four rebounds in his 25 minutes of play while Andray Blatche was the only other Nets to crack double figures in scoring with 14 points and six rebounds.  Pierce’s 10 rebounds were a game high and he only played 27 minutes.

The Nets shot a horrid 35% from the field and went 3-for21 from behind the arc and their only saving grace was that Boston shot the same 35% but took 18 less free throws to Brooklyn’s.

NOTES: Kevin Garnett (rest) and Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms) did not play.

NEXT UP:  The Nets will host the Miami Heat on Thursday night where they will retire Kidd’s No. 5 before the game.  the ceremony will be shown on TNT.

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