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Rondo, Celtics handle Nets

Mar 8, 2014 - 6:22 AM Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul Pierce returned home again, but his second trip to Beantown was far like the first.

Rajon Rondo had 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and the Boston Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 91-84, on Friday night.

The Celtics overcame 28 turnovers by outrebounding the Nets, 51-28.

"Obviously the difference in the game for us," Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said. "We shared the ball pretty well with our team, and theirs."

Brooklyn beat the Celtics, 85-79, in the initial showdown in Boston on Jan. 26.

Kevin Garnett missed his fourth straight game due to back spasms. He did not make the trip to Boston to face his former team.

Pierce, the second leading scorer in Boston history, spent 15 seasons as a Celtic and Garnett joined him for six of those years. Both were integral parts in helping Boston win its 17th NBA title in 2008. They were sent to Brooklyn as part of a draft night trade during the offseason.

Pierce finished with 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

Jeff Green netted 15 points, while Jerryd Bayless added 14 points and six boards for Boston, which had dropped seven of its last eight coming in.

Joe Johnson tallied 21 points and seven rebounds for the Nets, who had their four-game winning streak snapped and fell back to .500 two days after going over for the first time this season.

"We need to keep working, keep grinding and understand we can't take anyone lightly," Nets head coach Jason Kidd said.

The Celtics were up 64-46 early in the third following Kris Humphries' layup, but Brooklyn countered with an 18-6 run to get back in it. Consecutive three- point plays by Andrei Kirilenko and Marcus Thornton capped the surge and made it 70-68.

Boston, though, closed the third on an 8-2 spurt. Two Chris Johnson free throws concluded the flurry and gave the hosts a 78-70 cushion going into the fourth.

The Celtics led by as many as 12 in the final frame before cruising to the win.

Boston was up 26-20 after a quarter of play and 53-41 at the break.

Game Notes

The Celtics shot 44.3 percent (31-of-70) from the floor ... The Nets tallied 26 points off the Boston turnovers ... Brooklyn was just 4-of-30 (13.3 percent) from beyond the arc.