NEW YORK — There was no yelling from Brad Stevens during the first timeout. Nobody got benched.
It looked bad for the Boston Celtics on the scoreboard, but their coach liked what he was seeing on the court.
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WHO: Celtics at Pacers
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
TELEVISION: CSN
“Even when we were down 10-2, I felt good about the way we were playing,” Stevens said, adding that his message to his players was “we’re playing a lot better than the score.”
Eventually, they played a lot better than the Nets.
Avery Bradley scored 21 points, and the Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak with an 89-81 victory over Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
Tyler Zeller added 18 points for the Celtics, who won for just the second time in nine games by outplaying and outworking the Nets over the final three quarters. They trailed by 11 in the first half but gradually pulled away after halftime despite shooting under 40 percent for the game.
“We knew what we had to do to come into the game tonight and get a win,” reserve Jae Crowder said. “We just came out with a little more effort than they did and it showed late.”
Nets center Mason Plumlee agreed that the Nets were outhustled.
“No question,” he said. “It hurts to say that, but that’s what happened.”
The Celtics had just seven turnovers, leading to four points for the Nets. Brooklyn turned it over 18 times, which Boston turned into 16 points.
Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who dropped their third in a row and fell to 16-19. Plumlee had 16 points and 12 rebounds but shot just 6 for 11 at the free-throw line.
“This is a game I think we definitely should’ve got,” Johnson said.
Brooklyn point guard Deron Williams came on late in the first quarter after missing a game with a sore left side, but made it just 4 minutes before having to take himself out.
Brooklyn took an early 10-point lead and was ahead 25-19 after one quarter, but managed just 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting in the second. The Celtics, who trailed by 11 early in the period, scored the final eight points of the half to grab a 40-39 edge.
The Celtics pushed it to 69-62 after three and opened a series of double-digit leads in the fourth quarter. Their lead peaked at 82-68 on a dunk by Crowder, who was all alone under the basket when the Nets appeared to be looking the other way.
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