D'Angelo Russell scored 20 of his 29 points in the third quarter to lead the host Brooklyn Nets to a 110-96 win over the short-handed Boston Celtics on Saturday night.

Russell added 10 assists, Caris LeVert scored 15 points and DeMarre Carroll and Joe Harris chipped in 13 each as the Nets put a 2-5 road trip behind them in their first home game since March 11. Brooklyn (39-38) remained in seventh place in the Eastern Conference after sixth-place Detroit (39-37) defeated Portland to stay one-half game up on the Nets.

Gordon Hayward had 19 points, and Marcus Morris and Daniel Theis added 16 apiece for the Celtics, who lost to the Nets for just the second time in their last 13 meetings. Kyrie Irving (back) and Al Horford (knee) sat out a night after each playing 35 minutes in a key win over Indiana.

The Celtics (45-32), who moved into fourth place in the East with that victory, remained there when the Pacers (45-32) lost to Orlando on Saturday.

Nets starting big man Rodions Kurucs sustained a right knee injury in the first quarter and did not return.

The Nets, who held a one-point lead at halftime, opened things up with a 10-2 run to begin the second half. Russell hit two 3-pointers during the stretch. Brooklyn took its first double-digit lead of the game, 63-53, on a Russell shot with 7:38 left in the third.

That basket came in a run of nine straight Russell points for the Nets. After a Harris three ended his streak, Russell put in five more for a 76-57 Brooklyn lead. The Nets led 82-70 entering the fourth.

Boston was unable to threaten in the fourth, its largest unanswered run being just four points.

The Celtics led 21-17 after a tightly contested first quarter. Theis gave Boston its first double-digit advantage, 28-17, early in the second quarter, but Brooklyn wouldn't go away, taking the lead for good, 42-41, on a LeVert 3-pointer with 2:47 to go in the second.

A Carroll three gave the Nets a 47-41 lead, but the Celtics scored seven of the final nine points in the period to trail 49-48 at the half. Carroll led all players with 11 points at the break.

--Field Level Media