Nikola Vucevic, Jaylen Brown Help Blow out Nets: Four Reasons They Won and Player Grades

The Celtics didn’t give in to the dreaded first-game-back-off-a-long-trip blues, though it looked like they might have been fighting something for parts of this game. It was fair to wonder whether they’d ever get some separation for the first half of this game, but then they turned it on halfway through the third and never looked back, winning 148-111.

Box Score

Game Flow

The Celtics stormed out on a 7-2 run behind three great defensive plays from Neemias Queta, including a pick-six steal-and-dunk. The Nets answered with a run of their own but Derrick White and Baylor Scheierman got hot from three and built a lead as high as 11. Old friend Josh Minott was part of an 11-4 run, which included a monster highlight dunk on Hugo Gonzalez, and the Celtics lead settled at three after the first quarter.

They slowly rebuilt the lead in the second as Payton Pritchard started to get going, but once again the Nets answered. Jaylen Brown closed the second quarter by scoring five points and then he came out hot in the third scoring a quick seven to push the lead up to 14. Brooklyn’s next push was as big, though, and Boston got it to 20 with a few minutes to go. It settled at 26 at the end of the quarter, thanks to a 27-7 run over 6:23.

The Celtics left nothing to chance after that, going on an 8-0 run to start the fourth, extending the overall run to 35-7, to go up 34 and put the game away.

Here are four reasons why they won.

Nikola Vucevic bounced back

Social media is an unforgiving place for someone going through some struggles, and that definitely applied to Vucevic. But he quieted a lot of the critics by having one of his best games of the season, and easily best of his young Celtics career.

I’d argue that his first quarter performance was critical to this blowout. If he didn’t have a monster start to the game, Boston could have been down heading into the second quarter instead of up. And at that point, who knows what the butterfly effect is.

This was a well-timed bounce back for Vuc.

Jaylen Brown shook off early struggles

Brown’s first quarter was somewhat forgettable, after an 0-4 start from the free throw line and 1-3 from the field. He did do other things, but he got back to doing what he does best in the second quarter. He finished with 28 points on 9-12 shooting, and he went 6-6 from the line after the first quarter, so he recovered very nicely from that. His dominant start to the third set the tone for the blowout.

They hit everything

They finished 22-34 from three. It’s hard to beat the Celtics when they spend the whole game in the 60% range from deep. Ten Celtics took three-pointers in this game, and everyone hit at least one, except for Hugo Gonzalez (0-2) and John Tonje (0-1).

The Celtics posted their second-best field-goal percentage in team history in this game at 66.7%. Their best is 66.9%, so John Tonje, you’re cut for missing the one shot you took.

Just kidding. He got to the line and scored his first NBA points, so it’s all good. Congrats, kid.

They didn’t give in to the easy excuse

The first game back from a long road trip is notoriously tough, but the Celtics fought through whatever fatigue to put the game away.

“I think it just really starts with the guys, their competitive character,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “We have a lot of depth, regardless of who we put out there. We just compete at high levels. I think it just really just says a lot about the guys, honestly.”

Player Grades

Nikola Vucevic: A+

He handled a lot of the first-quarter scoring, putting up 10 points, and he rode the momentum to a very nice game.

“I thought our spacing was good. I thought his screening was good,” Mazzulla said after the game. “I thought we found the advantage quickly, and I thought we just kept hammering that, so it's a credit to him and his screening and his execution, and then to the guys finding him in advantages to make plays for himself or for others.”

I love the Celtics running offense off Vucevic in the post. Hugo Gonzalez can eat off cuts when Vucevic is on the floor.

Great cut by Hugo 👏 pic.twitter.com/YzJYzbigOn
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 28, 2026

Jaylen Brown: A

He was doing other things early, but there was a lid on the basket. He was 1-3 in the first quarter while also missing all four of his free throws. He did have four assists, though. He was perfect in the second and his hot start to the third got Boston a little separation and lit the fuse for the blowout.

His defense was pretty good too.

Jaylen Brown steal, Neemias Queta layup pic.twitter.com/iNbnd8WdE8
— Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) February 28, 2026

I’m docking him for missing the four free throws, though, so it’s not an A+.

Payton Pritchard: A

Great to see both of the main bench guys come back to score a bunch of points after a couple of tough games. He had 22 points on 9-12 shooting (4-5 3pt) and five assists.

Neemias Queta: A-

He played just 15 minutes, but he set a nice defensive tone with two steals and a block early in the game. His steal and slam was a fun play.

BIG MAN FASTBREAK 🚨 pic.twitter.com/z0uM7B1A7a
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 28, 2026

Hugo Gonzalez: A-

He was working really hard defensively, finishing with two blocks and a steal. Beyond that, I saw him working his butt off to make plays that don’t show up in the stat sheet. I don’t care about his offensive numbers (eighth points, 4-6 fg, 0-2 3pt), I think he was a defensive monster.

Hugo Gonzalez block 🚫 pic.twitter.com/PJZ68sTn9T
— Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) February 28, 2026

Derrick White: B+

He started out a perfect 3-3 from three but then went 1-5 after that. But in typical White fashion, he had seven assists, two blocks, and a steal to make a major contribution

Baylor Scheierman: B+

He hit his first two three-pointers and finished with 10 points and six assists.

Sam Hauser: B

Solid game for Hauser, who finished with 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists.

Jordan Walsh: C

His two first quarter turnovers helped the Nets keep things close. He did hit both his 3-pointers, but he he ended up a -2 in a 37-point win.