The Nets lost to the Celtics 139-114 despite being down just 65-60 to the defending NBA champions. Ziaire Williams had his best game in a Nets uniform as he dropped 23 points and six rebounds while Cam Thomas had 17 points and three assists.

But when the Celtics play like they did in the third quarter, when they rang up 38 points and were 7 for 11 behind the arc, nights like those will be rare. Nets: The Nets should like what they're seeing from Williams,

Jayson Tatum scored 15 of his 36 points in the third quarter as the Boston Celtics recovered from a slow start and pulled away in the second half for a 139-114 victory over the host Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets are exceeding expectations right now, but what would elevate this team even more would be Simmons' willingness to shoot more. Of course, his ability to find anyone on the floor has been a major part of Brooklyn's offensive success, but imagine what the offense would look like if Simmons was more aggressive in looking to score.

Ben Simmons and Dorian Finney-Smith both missed Wednesday’s 139-114 loss to Boston, with Simmons needing an MRI exam on his tight left calf. It marked the first game he had missed due to injury this season,