Lopez has 30 points, 13 rebounds, Nets beat Celtics 100-97

Jack was having a solid 10th season, averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 7.4 assists per game for the struggling Nets (10-23).

“We definitely took steps in the right direction”, Lopez said. “We stuck together and pulled through”.

They were ahead by as much as 19 but never put away the Nets, who drew within five with 3 minutes left. Jonas Jerebko missed a corner 3 in the closing seconds and the clock ran out on Boston.

The Thunder won their fourth straight, their seventh in the last eight games, and their 13th in the last 15.

“For us as a team, it’s part of this game. And we’re thankful for that”. The Celtics have the easy advantage at the point guard position with Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart.

With Jarrett Jack out for the season, Brooklyn was forced into a new look for the New Year.

This season, Stevens is doing a great job of continually guiding the young Celtics but so far, there have been inconsistencies, with the team having an 18-15 record for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Whatever way the Nets try to go, they need to try something different because it wasn’t working with Jarrett Jack. To get hurt like that is nasty, I’ve seen injuries before, and when he went down, I felt it was bad. “But I choose to say that we’ve got to keep working and getting better”. The Celtics have one of the most cluttered front courts in the National Basketball Association and there is no doubting that Stevens is still figuring things out.

Boston’s defeat to Brooklyn was the second consecutive in the team’s home court.

December 28 @ Miami: Tallied 26 points, 12 rebounds and two steals during a 111-105 win over the Heat. They entered Monday’s game shooting 32.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Boston’s swingman scored sporadically throughout the remainder of the game, but came through in the clutch when the Celtics needed a spark late in the fourth quarter.

“It was the first quarter that killed us, ” said Johnson, who will facilitate more offense in Jack’s absence. The injury occurred during the second half of the Nets’ game at Boston on Saturday, January 2. Jack yelled something at Sullinger and both Jack and the Celtics’ Jae Crowder got technicals. Joe Johnson led the team in assists with four, which might be a telling sign to give Joe a shot at point-forward. Smart and Thomas also got technical fouls…. 500 opponents as wins as they have done over the past few games.

NOTES: The Boston Celtics assigned F Jordan Mickey and G Terry Rozier to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Developmental League. He last played December 21. It’s unclear if Jack will be ready to play when the 2016-17 season begins in October.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images Jae Crowder throws down a dunk on Bogdan Bogdanovic, finishing with 25 points in the game.

For the Celtics, a win against the Nets on Monday would have been helpful.