Celtics lock up division title with 114-105 win over Nets

Boston controls its own destiny in the race for the top seed after beating the Brooklyn Nets 114-105 at home Monday, combined with the Cleveland Cavaliers losing in overtime to the Miami Heat a few minutes later.

There is one game remaining in the National Basketball Association regular season and the Boston Celtics have put themselves in a flawless position to finish as the number one seed in the East.

“It’s a great honor, obviously a lot of incredible players have played here”, Lopez said after further cementing his status as Mr. Net.

Isaiah Thomas led the way with 32 points and six assists, Al Horford added 16 points with seven assists while Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder chipped in with 15 points each.

The Pacers close the regular season with a home game against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

The Celtics will be waiting until the season’s final seconds tick away to discover who their first playoff opponent will be.

But to Lopez, chasing a championship here in Brooklyn is his No. 1 goal, regardless of how bleak that possibility appears at the moment. “Started a legacy where players want to come and play”.

– The Celtics clinched the Atlantic Division title Monday night for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.

New to Lopez’s game this season (and expedient in catching up on the scoring list) has been the addition of a 3-point shot.

It was a great story line – Brook Lopez facing off against twin brother Robin Wednesday night at United Center with the opportunity to possibly knock the Bulls out of a tie for the eighth and final seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics saw firsthand how Brooklyn has grown into a club that guards, works hard, and applies pressure on the middle of a defense. The Celtics can not be taking anything from granted, and their mentality needs to be that they are going to see peak Cavaliers in any game they play. The Nets need to restock their draft picks and get some assets, and Lopez is the best trade chip that the Nets have. However, Jeremy Lin helped the Celtics boost their chances because he missed the majority of the season due to injuries. Jeremy Lin scored 26 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for the Nets.

Lin was told about Lopez’s record. “If I could describe Brook in one word, it would be consistency”. “So, I’d be lying to you if I said I didn’t look at (the Celts owning the Nets” next two first-round picks), but then I looked at it and said, “OK, Sean’s going to do some great things and we’re going to do some great things together in terms of culture and what we’re building here”.

The Celtics are 3-0 against Brooklyn this season, with an average margin of victory of 9 points, and it’s obvious why Boston has taken a bottom-feeder like the Nets so seriously.

“These guys could easily ease back and relax, but that hasn’t been the case”, said first-year Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson. They have seen their every game mentality shift a bit after winning so many games this season, and that could ultimately be their downfall in the playoffs.