Simons epitomized the reality in front of Boston for that Nets loss, and was not being offered as an excuse for how the Celtics played.

Michael Porter Jr. finished with 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting, eight rebounds, and two assists, showing he might just be ready to take his game to the next level.

The Celtics promised they would play hard all season, but that wasn't the case in a listless loss Friday to the Nets.

Coaches Joe Mazzulla and Jordi Fernandez spoke about limiting Boston's shots from 3 in their loss to Brooklyn on Friday night.

The Brooklyn Nets beat the Boston Celtics 113-105 on Friday night for their first victory in the NBA Cup in-season tournament.

After rallying from 18 down to make it a 2-point game with just over five minutes left, the hosts could not stop Porter as Brooklyn won for just the third time this season.

BOSTON — Joe Mazzulla’s definition of fun became a talking point this past weekend when Rusty Smith, a young reporter with Sports Illustrated Kids, asked the Boston Celtics coach how he balances pushing players to improve while keeping the game fun for them.

Naulls was, with Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, and Tom Sanders, part of the first all-Black lineup in the history of North American pro sports in 1964, and a key part of three of Boston's titles in their golden age of dominance in the mid-1960s. He averaged 10.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game with the Celtics -- rest in peace.