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The Nets were locked in a third quarter fight in Boston when they rolled over.
They went from competing to quitting. And it happened in a quarter.
Brooklyn got shredded 148-111 by Boston before 19,156 at TD Garden on Friday night.
It was the most points the Nets had allowed all season. So was the 66.7 percent shooting they conceded. And the misprint-like 64.7 percent from 3-point range.
Not since 2022 had Brooklyn allowed that many points. Not since April 1, 2025 had anybody in the NBA permitted better shooting.
“It was a really, really poor defensive game, probably the worst of the season. I know we’ve shown better. So there’s something for me to fight for,” said coach Jordi Fernández, who has to teach his team not tactics but toughness. “Yeah, the teaching is not what, it’s how. How you present yourself and how you compete. And it was not good enough by our standards.”
The implosion happened quickly.
The Nets were within 82-76 midway through the third quarter and gave up an extended 48-13 blitz that lasted until midway through the fourth.
“Yeah, it was a complete quit when you lose by almost 40 points and they scored 82 points in one half of basketball,” Fernández said. “Give them credit because they’re a very good team, but we can be better than this. And I know it.
“I believe and trust in our guys. When we have people on our team, it’s because we believe in them. And I don’t know if they believe in how hard they can play, but my job is to show up and make them understand that we can play harder.”
The Nets watched Jaylen Brown put up 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, sailing through the lane unopposed. Nikola Vucevic added 28.
Brooklyn trailed by just six with 6:07 left in the third when they folded. They gave up a 48-13 run that saw them allow 16-for-18 shooting, 5-of-5 from deep. Defense that poor beggars belief.
When it was over, they were down 130-89 with 6:56 left, outscored by 35 in less than a quarter.
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Michael Porter Jr. had 18 points and Danny Wolf added 16 off the bench.
The Nets (15-43) have dropped seven straight and are third in the lottery standings, two games behind Sacramento — one in the win column — and a half-game behind Indiana.
The Celtics have won 10 of their past 12 games and are second in the East while awaiting the return of Jayson Tatum.
Former Celtic Josh Minott had nine points, two rebounds and a poster dunk in his return to Boston after being the victim of a salary dump at the trade deadline.
“That’s above my pay grade. I was in Boston, now I’m in Brooklyn. I don’t know. I play basketball. That’s a question for my agents,” Minott said. “I got a different jersey on. Live, eat, breathe Brooklyn now.”
Grant Nelson, inked on a 10-day deal, made his NBA debut with 9:41 to play and scored his first points on a dunk with 6:35 left.
“It’s just really a dream come true. So I’m just going to do what I can, continue to keep working and hopefully do whatever I can to help this team win some games,” Nelson told YES Network.