Celtics get revenge with win over Nets

The Boston Celtics are back on track after avenging Saturday's gut-wrenching loss to the Nets with a revenge win in Brooklyn. The team in green unleashed all the pent up frustration that built up after dropping a pair of home games to two of the league's bottom-feeders in their previous two games, racing out to a 15 point lead by the end of a first quarter in which they put up 37 points.

Boston looked lethargic during their recent mini-losing streak, but started with a lot more energy out of the gate. How much more aggressive did the Celtics play in this game? Allow Marcus Smart to demonstrate.

You don't walk the dog on Marcus Smart's watch. https://t.co/hk8ZRZUIfn

— Brian Robb (@CelticsHub) January 5, 2016

You better take care of the ball when Smart is around.

Jae Crowder came out blazing with 14 of his team-high 25 points in the first quarter. He hit a couple of three-pointers and added three steals.

Coach Brad Stevens was forced to mix up his rotation with Avery Bradley sidelined with a hip injury. Evan Turner got the start in his place and responded with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists. Kelly Olynyk also joined the starters, pushing Jared Sullinger to the bench, in an effort to get more offense early in the game. While Olynyk didn't contribute much firepower with only 9 points on 4-of-11 shooting, his presence helped space the floor to help open up the offense for everyone else. The switch also seemed to help Sully bounce back, as he finished with an efficient 12 points and 10 boards in 18 minutes off the bench.

Brook Lopez was fairly quiet considering how dominant he looked in the last game, but Thaddeus Young more than made up for it with a 23 point, 15 rebound effort.  Joe Johnson also chipped in 21 points for the Nets because despite being a shell of his former self, he always seems to do well against the Celtics.

Boston seemed to lead by double-digits for most of the game. While the Nets made a 4th quarter run that got the game back to within two possessions at one point, the Celtics rallied back to coast to a comfortable victory.

The Celtics end up splitting the season series with the Nets, which is actually a massive disappointment. Dropping three out of four to Brooklyn may have caused riots in the streets of Boston, particularly when you consider the draft pick ramifications that factor into every Nets win. The C's needed this win and the got it. Now let's see if they can build on it.