The Boston Celtics' NBA Cup dreams were shattered on Friday night at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets. The 113-105 defeat came at a surprise, to say the very least.
Here's what stood out:
The short roll
One thing that became apparent early in this game was that the Celtics’ bigs would have plenty of opportunity to make plays out of the short roll. The Nets made it a point to blitz the ball handler off the majority of Boston’s screens, leaving the screener wide-open on the roll.
When they did, both Neemias Queta and Luka Garza found themselves with decisions to make on the fly. One fared better than the other.
Quetta looked comfortable reading the defense and kicking out to his teammates. It was impressive how he maintained his composure even when his first read wasn’t open.
Joe Mazzulla talked about how the Nets played their pick and rolls aggressively last game which forced some turnovers. They are doing the same tonight so Queta has been slipping the screens when he gets there leaving him open. Simons has hit him and Queta continues to make good pic.twitter.com/QrdZ2jcnol
— NikNBA🏀 (@NIKNBAYT) November 22, 2025
He also had this loud poster dunk over Nets forward Noah Clowney.
Neemi with authority 😤 pic.twitter.com/IwuC0iW1Ut
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 22, 2025
Garza, meanwhile, elected to take his little flip shot in these situations. It’s not a bad shot, but it wasn’t working for him against Brooklyn. Finding the open perimeter shooter would’ve been the sharper play.
The feel for the kickout will likely come with more reps for Garza, who’s still been impressive for stints this season.
The Nets’ blitz worked
Don’t get it twisted, the Celtics weren’t always able to find an advantage off of Brooklyn’s blitzes. It wasn’t like Tuesday’s game, when they turned the ball over more than they had all season, though. They kept the ball, but their offensive process looked sluggish throughout the night. There were plenty of times when it felt like Boston had to go through a war just to get a shot up.
The Cs’ ballhandlers struggled with the added pressure for the most part, resulting in the clunky offense. Brooklyn kept the Celtics out of the paint extremely well, and there wasn’t much creation outside of Jaylen Brown, who found himself in foul trouble midway through the third quarter.
If you need evidence of how brutal things were with Brown on the bench, look no further than the 16-2 run that the Nets strung together to blow this game open heading into the fourth quarter.
This was the vision for Anfernee Simons
Anfernee Simons’ first 15 games as a Celtic weren’t the finest of his NBA career. The former Portland Trail Blazers star spent his first month in Boston struggling to find his role with the Cs.
Friday night was a glimpse into what that role could be for Simons.
He had a mild start to the game. There weren’t many on-ball reps for him in the first half, just a few catch-and-shoot opportunities, which he made the most of.
Simons really got going in the second half, once Brown had to sit out. It wasn’t perfect, though; he was on the floor for Boston’s brutal stretch late in the third.
He was also a massive reason why they got back into this game late. It almost felt like he was back in Portland. He initiated offense, moved the ball, and, most importantly, actually got to the rim. For whatever reason, Simons has struggled to get to the paint in Boston for the majority of the season. Breaking that slump will play a key role in the 26-year-old thriving as a Celtic.
He finished the night with 23 points and 4 assists on 10-16 shooting.