The Brooklyn Nets picked apart the Boston Celtics on their home court Friday, routing the latter by 24 points in the final preseason tuneup for both teams.
While it won't count toward any official recordkeeping, the heavy defeat rubbed a couple of the Celtics' big men the wrong way.
"Last night it was kind of an embarrassing performance that we put out there," forward Grant Williams said, courtesy of Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. "Not only (not) doing our jobs defending and also just laughing everything off like we weren't taking everything (seriously) like it was a preseason game."
New Celtics center Tristan Thompson agreed with Williams' assessment. Thompson didn't play in either of Boston's two preseason contests due to a hamstring issue but said Saturday the team's performance left him "pissed off," according to Jay King of The Athletic.
Luckily for Boston, Thompson participated fully in Saturday's practice and marked his first full practice since he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers in March. The 29-year-old hopes to use the training sessions to prove his worth as a veteran even if he isn't yet medically cleared to play in games.
"We've got these talented young stars on our team. For me, being one of the old heads that have been around the block ... at the end of the day I want to help this team be the best we can be," Thompson said, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. "I feel like my voice and what I've been through and what I see is going to challenge them.
"And if I can light a fire under their ass to get them going and try to make everyone just 1% better, then I've done my job."
The Celtics will open their season with a sizable test when they host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday.
