THERE is no better way to describe the beating the Brooklyn Nets got in the hands of the Boston Celtics other than it was a total annihilation.

The Celtics shot the lights out, embarrassing the Nets 139-96 in Boston, Thursday morning (Manila time). 

In 11 games without their star player Kevin Durant, the Nets have lost seven games. Coincidentally, it lost the first game of that 11-game stretch against the Celtics as well. 

The big quarter

But this was a monumental collapse from the get go. At one point, the Celtics were up a whopping 35-7 in the first quarter making 7 out 7 three pointers with four minutes left. The Nets couldn’t string a few good shots together to save them in an eight minute barrage from the Celtics. 

The Celtics scored 46 points in the first quarter alone, five points shy of the NBA record set by the Golden State Warriors in 2019. They also limited the Nets to a measly 16 points in the quarter.

Boston made 26 three-pointers and shot 57.6 percent on the field, which explains the huge disparity in points between the two teams. 

Cruise control

After the first quarter, the Celtics just piled on with some scintillating plays. Even the role players got into the action, blocking shots and making unexpected three-pointers. 

Derrick White scored 7 of his 14 points in the second quarter and center Al Horford made a quickly taken three-pointer to rile up the crowd for the Celtics.

Eventually, the reserves had the chance to close the game out in the final quarter with the lead already at 41 points. 

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 31 points (7-12 3P) while Jalen Brown had 26 points (7-12 3P). They became the only players in Celtics history to have made seven three-pointers in the same game.

Kyrie Irving scored 20 points for the Nets, which is struggling to find their footing without Durant.

The Celtics will face the Phoenix Suns at home while the Nets will try to bounce back against the Washington Wizards next.