Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert scores 51 points in wild win over Boston Celtics

Scott Rafferty

Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert scores 51 points in wild win over Boston Celtics image

Caris LeVert had himself a game against the Boston Celtics.

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old carried the Brooklyn Nets to victory with a career-best 51 points, doing so on 17-for-26 shooting from the field, 5-for-10 from 3-point range and 12-for-18 from the free throw line. LeVert added five assists, four rebounds and one steal to his stat line.

After the game, Nets forward Kevin Durant took to Twitter to thank LeVert for his "masterpiece."

LeVert saved his best for last in the win. The Nets entered the fourth quarter down by double figures, trailing the Celtics 84-67. LeVert then sparked a comeback with a 26-point fourth quarter. He made seven of his 10 field goal attempts and eight of his 11 free throw attempts in the period.

Led by LeVert, the Nets outscored the Celtics 51-34 in the fourth to force overtime. The 51 points the Nets scored marked a new franchise record. LeVert went on to score all 11 of the team's points in the extra frame to secure the win.

According to ESPN, the 37 points LeVert combined to score in the fourth quarter and overtime were the most in the last 20 years.

Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown were Boston's leading scorers in the loss with 21 points and 22 points, respectively. However, Brown left the game after 34 minutes of play with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. The Celtics also lost Gordon Hayward to knee soreness after 16 minutes of play, while Jayson Tatum didn't play due to an illness.

With the win, the Nets move ahead of the Orlando Magic for the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference. For the Celtics, they move a full game behind the Toronto Raptors for the second-best record in the conference.

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Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.