Boston saw its best second quarter in more than 30 years Friday night, when it scored 43 points on its way to a 120-95 blowout win over Brooklyn.
The second frame was the defining period during the rematch Sunday night as well, but this time it was Brooklyn that dominated minutes 13 through 24.
The Nets outscored Boston 35-23 during the second quarter and went on two separate 10-runs in a span of less than six minutes, en route to a 111-101 win at Barclays Center.
The Celtics trailed 29-27 at the 8:55 mark of the second frame, but that was the closest they would get for the rest of the game. The Nets took off on their first 10-0 run at that point, starting with Bojan Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer that put them up five.
The C’s then coughed up the rock on three consecutive possessions and Brooklyn capitalized on the other end each time.
The momentum-changing bucket came off the second of those turnovers, when Thomas Robinson poked the ball out of Jonas Jerebko’s hands, dished it off to Shane Larkin who quickly tapped it back to Robinson for a soaring alley-oop dunk.
Joe Johnson then picked off Terry Rozier on the next C’s possession, drove up the court and flipped a no-look underhand pass from the baseline to Andrea Bargnani at the right elbow for two more, putting the Nets up 39-27.
The Celtics scored six quick points after that, but Bargnani and Johnson responded with another 10-0 run, which put the Nets up 51-33.
Boston clawed back from a 22-point deficit to get to within four during the fourth quarter, but Brooklyn re-steadied itself and walked off with the win.
The Nets came out hungry following their embarrassing loss in Boston on Friday. They delivered with revenge to split the home-and-home series, and it all started with that hot second quarter.
Avery Bradley spent all of last week coming off Boston’s bench. He thrived in his new role, averaging 18.5 points per game on 55.4 percent shooting.
AB returned to the starting lineup Sunday night in place of the injured Marcus Smart (lower left leg injury) and did not skip a beat.
The guard notched a career-high seven 3-pointers on 14 attempts, which paved way for a season-high 27 points.
He also played a game-high 39 minutes and 48 seconds and helped key a third quarter run alongside his starting backcourt mate Isaiah Thomas, who also scored 27 points.
The C’s came up short Sunday night in Brooklyn, but Bradley continued to display his interchangeability. It doesn’t matter if he’s starting or coming off the bench. AB’s got a hot hand and is showing no signs of cooling down regardless of his role.
Jared Sullinger on playing without the injured Marcus Smart
