Celtics walk the walk, apologize for NBA Cup flop with 25-point win over Nets

Hand up, “our bad,” said the Celtics (probably).

Just 24 hours after being outworked by the Atlanta Hawks in their NBA Cup opener, the Boston Celtics walked the walk against the Brooklyn Nets. They talked the talk Tuesday night, saying that they needed to be better and play harder and did just that in Brooklyn on the back end of a back-to-back when they issued fans a 25-point apology in their whomping of the Nets.

“We didn’t feel great getting on that plane last night… We wanted to bounce back,” Jayson Tatum told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin, after hanging 36 points on the hosts at Barclays.

Tatum embodied all that was right about the bounce-back W. He notched a near triple-double (36p/10a/9r) and had his fingerprints all over the game.

Much like all of the games that Boston played in the last week, they once again started slow, but JT had their back. He poured in 13 first-quarter points to help the Cs keep pace with the Nets early.

His well-rounded effort rubbed off on his Celtics teammates, who looked far more focused.

“It starts with them (Tatum and Jaylen Brown) taking responsibility, but taking responsibility as far as what needs to be done on the floor…They know how important their two-way basketball is for our success,” head coach Joe Mazzulla explained.

After turning the ball over 20 times and allowing the Hawks as many offensive rebounds as possible, they tightened things up and kept Wednesday’s combined number to just 10 in Brooklyn.

Mazzulla had pointed to the shot margins at Tuesday’s post-game presser, saying that you can’t win games when you’re taking 25 less attempts than your opponent. His guys clearly listened and cleaned up their game, especially Brown and Tatum.

“Yesterday, after the game, I said me and JT have to be better. We had 11 turnovers,” said Brown. “Tonight, we only had one.”

Brown didn’t have the most efficient scoring night en route to his 24 points, but he made his presence known by hitting the glass hard. His 12 boards (10 defensive) were a big part of why the Nets weren’t able to create second chances for themselves.

Boston’s two stars’ willingness to take accountability and lead by example says a lot about their character, as well as the team’s.

Payton Pritchard, who poured in an efficient 23 points at Barclays, would agree.

“We got humbled yesterday. We didn’t respect our opponent,” he told reporters (h/t CLNS Media) “We came back today and it showed the character of our team.”

There have been plenty of seasons where we’ve all seen the Celtics lose in a disappointing fashion, as they did in the Cup opener, say they need to be better, and then come out and shoot themselves in the foot again.

Since Mazzulla has been in charge, more specifically since he’s had a full offseason to prepare for his responsibility as head coach, the Cs have been consistent at learning from their lessons.

He just wants his guys to commit to the process of getting better.

“Nothing’s fixed. But also, just because you don’t play well doesn’t mean it’s broken. It’s just a process day in and day out. You’ve got to commit to it, you’ve got to do it.”