The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Boston Celtics, 121-109, at Barclays Center on Thursday night.

The Nets (25-13) continue to show why they are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and didn't have problems to defeat the Celtics (19-18), a team that was coming off four straight wins prior to the All-Star break. Brooklyn got off to a slow start, however, and Boston jumped out to a 29-23 lead in the first quarter. The Nets responded quickly with a 35-26 score in the second quarter, meaning they grabbed a three-point lead at the break. Boston recorded a 31-30 lead after the third quarter so the final 12 minutes were tough, but Brooklyn took advantage of that and out scored the Celtics by a 33-23 score, ultimately cruising their way to a confortable win. Brooklyn shot 47.7 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from deep, while Boston shot 45.1 percent from the field but only a meager 32.5 percent from deep.

Kyrie Irving had one of his best games in recent memory and finished with 40 points while also adding eight boards and three dimes. James Garden ended with 22 points and 10 boards while also adding eight assists. Joe Harris had 12 points as well. Landry Shamet made an impact off the bench with 18 points despite not starting, while Jeff Green ended with 11 points, three boards and three assists.

Jayson Tatum carried the Celtics offensively with a 31-point output while also adding five rebounds and three assists, while Daniel Theis had 17 points and eight rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 12 points but struggled badly from the field since he ended with five shots made out of 23 attempts. Kemba Walker had 11 points. Marcus Smart came off the bench and thrived with 19 points in 21 minutes off the bench.