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.

The Nets beat the Celtics 113-105 in Friday's NBA Cup game and while the first three quarters look eerily similar to Tuesday, Brooklyn made sure that the end of the game was a different story. Forward Michael Porter Jr.

The Celtics dropped to 1-2 in an NBA Cup in Group B with the defeat, essentially eliminating them from advancing to the knockout round. They are back to .500 on the season with an 8-8 record. Boston gets one day off before hosting the Magic on Sunday night at TD Garden. Here are four takeaways from the Nets loss 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.

For the second time this week, the Brooklyn Nets took on the Boston Celtics, this time at TD Garden in Boston. This time around, it was the Nets who came out on

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.

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.

NESN’s Collin Keane took things a step further, predicting that the Dubs will cut ties with Kuminga in favor of an NBA champion Boston Celtics forward. “Kuminga is a $22.5 million cap hit who has a team option for next season, so he’s essentially expiring,” Keane wrote Friday.