Having lost to the Celtics by one basket the week before, the Nets were anxious for a rematch, and brought their A-game to I.S. 89 last Friday.
Tyler Rohan won the jump ball and tipped it to Jack McGreevy, who passed it to Coby Caraballo under the basket to put the Nets on the board. Caraballo stole the ball on the next play, going coast-to-coast and laying it in. The Celtics battled to get and keep the ball, but the Nets’ full-court press kept the action at one end.
A rebound by Jacob Lawrence-Kreiss was passed to Caraballo for his third consecutive basket. McGreevy’s next drive brought the score 8-0 for the Nets. Truman Dunn’s shot from the key gave the Celtics two points, but Lawrence-Kreiss answered soon after to make it 10-2.
Niall Gallagher, who was out of town for the first game, made his presence known with a rebound, which he passed to Rohan, who laid it up and in. McGreevy was fouled in the act of shooting, making the score 15-2. Caraballo scored again, then Dunn stepped up with good defensive plays, a steal and a basket to make the score 17-4.
Ian O’Connor kept things alive offensively for the Celtics with good passing. He stole the ball and passed to Dunn for his third field goal, making it 17-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Gallagher got things started for the Nets in the second quarter with a steal and pass to teammate Jake Cook, who scored. Dunn immediately scored for the Celtics, bringing the score 19-8. Oliver Brown persevered for the Nets, setting himself up under the basket and drawing fouls. Zach Dorf grabbed a couple of rebounds for the Celtics, and O’Connor’s shot bounced into Dunn’s hands again for a 19-10 score, but Lawrence-Kreiss’ basket for the Nets made it 21-10. Sasha Sanon scored seconds later for the Celts, making it 21-12.
But it was Gallagher who came through for the Nets, followed by a nice drive by Caraballo that made the score 25-12. Gallagher’s three-point beauty widened the gap further, and teammate Lawrence-Kreiss followed that up with a good pass to Brown to make it 30-12. As the clock wound down, Sanon was fouled and added one for the Celts for a 30-13 score.
Gallagher scored at the top of the third quarter, making it 32-13. Keith Rubenstein’s consistent ability to grab rebounds for his team, and the hard-working Noah Bootz helped the Celtics stay in the game. Teammate O’Connor was fouled and sank a free throw, and followed that up with a nice offensive passing drill with Sanon that ended up in a basket for O’Connor, and a 32-16 score.
Rohan passed to McGreevy for a Nets’ field goal, and seconds later passed it to Brown for another, making it 34-16. Brown scored again, and McGreevy followed with another. Dunn answered with a nice drive and layup, but McGreevy was hot, scoring his fifth basket as time ran out on the third quarter.
Down 44-18, the Celtics fought back, with their star center Carson, who was playing the game of his career at his school, and Dunn, who scored his fifth basket. But the Nets wouldn’t give.
Rohan stole the ball, passed to Caraballo, who found Brown waiting under the basket and made the score 46-20. Caraballo turned over the next Celtics’ possession, passing again to Brown to make it 48-20.
Sanon had another great drive, ending with a layup to make it 48-22, but McGreevy’s three-pointer made it 51-22. Gallagher scored his 10th and 11th points for the Nets, followed by Caraballo’s fifth basket as the quarter wound down.
With two seconds on the clock, Cook sank a three-pointer for the Nets, bringing the final score to Nets 58 – Celtics 24.
