When Courtney Lee responded to a 5-point burst by Nate Robinson by drilling an 18-footer - then putting his finger to his mouth to shush the crowd - you thought the Celtics would feel the lowly Nets poking at them with a stick.
You thought that at some point in this 104-96 loss to the Nets - a team that, at 6-52, is threatening to finish with the worst record in NBA history - the Celtics would wake up. But by the time they did, it was too late.
“I don’t know how many wake-up calls we need, really,’’ said Kendrick Perkins (2 points, 2 rebounds). “We done got a few this year.’’
Coming off their most lopsided loss of the season, 108-88 to Cleveland Thursday, the Celtics took what will likely be their most embarrassing defeat yesterday, falling to a woeful Nets team on a home court they’ve struggled to protect all year (16-11).
Coach Doc Rivers was at a loss to explain it.
“It’s just a mind-set that we’ve really struggled getting them out of,’’ he said. “It’s just a team that’s absolutely relaxed, and that’s on me. So I’ve got to keep working.
With the reality setting in that they could join Charlotte, Chicago, New York, and the Clippers as the only teams to lose to New Jersey this season, the Celtics made an 18-8 charge fueled by Kevin Garnett, who score 10 of his season-high 26 points in the fourth quarter.
But at that point, all the Nets had to do was hold them at bay, keep them at arm’s length by getting to the free throw line, where they were 34 of 41 (compared with the Celtics going just 9 of 11).
Behind Lopez (25 points, 7 rebounds), Lee (21 points before spraining his left ankle), and Devin Harris (23 points, 5 assists), the Nets set the intensity level and dared the Celtics to match it.
“You get a team that’s desperate and has a chance to win and beat us, they came to life,’’ Rivers said.
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