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BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics haven't found a way to fix their defensive woes.

With 24 regular season games left, the urgency is there, but the focus isn't, writes Chris Forsberg.

Center Brook Lopez scored 25 points and guards Devin Harris and Courtney Lee added 23 and 21 points and the New Jersey Nets topped the Celtics 104-96 Saturday.

The Nets, who entered the game 5-52 and 2-27 on the road, took a 29-27 lead on Keyon Dooling's jumper at the end of the first quarter and never trailed again.

"Any win for us is big. There's no question," Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. "But to get a win on the road, and this is one of the toughest places to play in the NBA just shows that -- it should demonstrate to our guys that if they play with effort, they can compete against anybody."

Kevin Garnett had 26 points and Marquis Daniels had 16 for the Celtics, playing their third straight game without Paul Pierce. The Celtics hope to get Pierce back for Tuesday's game against Detroit.

New Jersey took 41 free throws to the Celtics' 11.

"It shows that we were aggressive," Lopez said. "A lot of the season we've been settling for jump shots at very inopportune times. Tonight we were very assertive in trying to get to the basket and get the best possible shot we could."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers blamed his team for the free throw disparity, saying "it was on us."

Rivers said one of the things he told his team yesterday, a day after a 108-88 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, was "It ain't the system. It's our heads. It's between our ears. And we've got to come out and play."

Garnett said he was "disgusted" at the loss and said it came down to defense. "In this league you have to get stops, it's that simple. A team gets into a rhythm, and it's hard to turn it off."

New Jersey's effort shouldn't have come as a surprise to the Celtics. On Feb. 5 in Boston, the Nets hung with the Celtics until the last couple of minutes in a 96-87 loss.

The Celtics cut an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to six on Ray Allen's 3-pointer with 2:05 left, but Kris Humphries' layup and two foul shots by Lopez ended the rally.

The Celtics didn't hit a 3-pointer until Nate Robinson's shot late in the third quarter and finished 3 of 19 from behind the arc while the Nets hit six 3-pointers in 13 attempts.

The Nets scored 25 points off 18 Celtics turnovers. Boston shot 63 percent in the first quarter and had a 12-2 lead, but the Nets, led by Harris' 11 points, charged back to take a 29-27 lead at the end of the quarter.

Lopez continued to hurt the Celtics inside in the second quarter and the Boston bench struggled. Lopez's tip-in with four minutes left in the first half gave the Nets a 46-36 lead.

New Jersey led 74-64 after three quarters and then started to pull away in the fourth. Chris Douglas-Roberts' dunk upped the lead to 12 with 7:44 left and Dooling's 3-pointer gave Jersey an 18-point advantage with five minutes left.

Game notes
The flu has been bothering the Celtics, but Rivers dismissed it as a reason for the loss. "No, no, no. Everybody's sick right now. We just didn't play very well." ... New Jersey must win at least four of its remaining 24 games to overtake the 1972-73 76ers' 9-73 record.

Pierce or no Pierce, I'd say this is an indication that the C's really small window is just about shut now. But hey, they already got their ring, right?

djsunyc wrote:they should've moved ray allen. kg is literally 1 year away from the glue factory.

He should be joining T-Mac, Shaq, shortly in the "I need to retire" club.

bitty41 wrote:I watched part of this game and this is totally unacceptable for the Celtics. Brooke Lopez abused the Celts.

So did Kris Humphries and Courtney Lee.

oohah

Andrew wrote:Poor Nate has now lost twice to the Nets.

Nate kind of looks like a leprechaun out there in a Celtics Uni doesn't he?

oohah

Where is my pot of gold fool!?

oohah

BTW - Word is that we got a conditional pick from the Nate trade, any word on that?

Markji wrote:They actually do miss Eddie House. A good veteran and team player.

Why hasn't House helped the Knicks be better?

oohah

Markji wrote:He did in a couple of games. However, House isn't a main piece and star for a team. He is a SG that comes off of the bench and give an offensive surge when he is hot. That is how Boston used him. We are trying to make him a leader on the court.

House did hit some shots for the Knicks. That is what he does. But he hasn't made the team any better. House doesn't make teams better or worse on his own.

oohah

oohah wrote:

Markji wrote:He did in a couple of games. However, House isn't a main piece and star for a team. He is a SG that comes off of the bench and give an offensive surge when he is hot. That is how Boston used him. We are trying to make him a leader on the court.

House did hit some shots for the Knicks. That is what he does. But he hasn't made the team any better. House doesn't make teams better or worse on his own.

oohah

But the same applies for Nate. That's the reason they were traded for each other. Because they're somewhat similar as to what they can bring on a nightly basis.

No one got ripped off with this trade. Its funny how the Nate lovers think Boston got the best of us. I'm so glad this clown is off the team.