Red hot New Jersey Nets cool off Celtics, in playoff hunt

NETS 88
CELTICS 79

The New Jersey Nets are for real.

Before the Deron Williams trade with the Utah Jazz, the Nets were one of the worst teams in the NBA. Mired in last place, with little hope. They lost out on the Carmelo Anthony deal, had egg on their face from the LeBron James disaster over the summer. The needed a change.

Once they got Williams, the team lost three straight games to fall to 17-43 on the season. Now, the Nets are talking playoffs.

The Nets hung tough with the best team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics all night long. After watching an early 14-9 lead morph into a 23-14 deficit after the first quarter, the Nets didn't give up, battling back to tie the game at 29, and then hung around the rest of the night.

Then late in the third quarter, Anthony Marrow and Sundiata Gaines put New Jersey up on top with back-to-back three pointers to give the Nets a 67-61 lead.

The Nets stars of Brook Lopez, 20 points, and Chris Humphries, 16 points, 15 rebounds, and Williams, 16 points including the clinching three pointer, led the way for New Jersey in a thrilling 88-79 victory.

The Nets are now winners of five in a row, and find themselves only 5 1/2 games behind Indiana for the final playoff spot in the NBA playoffs. Indiana, beat the Knicks the other night, but has not distinguished themselves of late, having lost eight of their last ten to fall to 28-38.

In fact of the teams battling for that eighth seed, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indiana, Charlotte, and New Jersey, the Nets are the hottest team of the group.

The Nets have the best player of the group, in Williams, who is one of the games best, young point guards in the game. With 17 games remaining, there is still enough time for New Jersey to make up only 5 1/2 games, but they will have to stay hot for the next three weeks.