Celtics and Jayson Tatum beat Nets behind lopsided first quarter in Boston franchise history

It was a relatively tight first quarter, but in the end, Jayson Tatum came out on top with an 18-16 lead over his Brooklyn Nets rival, as in the five who were on the floor Wednesday night. It was a shame for Brooklyn, then, that Tatum had companions.

Consider the rest of Tatum Celtics the list, and Brooklyn was completely gutted. After 12 minutes of play, the Celtics led the Nets 46-16. It was the largest first quarter lead in Celtics history and the second worst quarter played by the Nets, and you’d be surprised to hear that things didn’t get much better from there. The final was a humiliating 139-96.

Despite their huge lead, the Celtics managed to win each of the four quarters. No Net scored more than Kyrie Irving’s 20 points Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 57 in 61 minutes on the court.

Their combined performance made a little more history. Boston’s top two stars scored at least 25 points, the 27th time this season they’ve done so and the first time their teammates have done it multiple times beyond the All-Star break, according to ESPN stats and info.

The win is the latest in a growing trend between Boston and Brooklyn. The Nets haven’t beaten the Celtics since November 24, 2021. If you include the playoffs, the Celtics have now beaten the Nets 10 times in a row. All three of Boston’s wins this season have been by double digits. Kevin Durant he may have been out for this one, but losing by 43 is ugly no matter who you put on the floor.