Following just their second loss of the season, the Boston Celtics were missing Jaylen Brown Kristaps Porzingis, and backup big Luke Kornet on Friday night.
A starting lineup of Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Xavier Tillman, and Al Horford is nothing to sneeze at, nor are bench scorers Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser. But 13-point favorites? Really?
The Brooklyn Nets, possessing a 4-4 record and three days of rest prior to Friday night, have earned a little more respect than that. There was no reason to expect their foray into Boston — given the Celtics missing — to be anything but a scrap.