Baylor Scheierman and Kristaps Porzingis lead the Celtics to a 104-96 win over the Nets

BOSTON (AP) — Baylor Scheierman scored 13 of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, Kristaps Porzingis had 25 points and 13 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-96 on Tuesday night.

Scheierman took advantage of some bonus playing time as the Celtics rested injured stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown against the struggling Nets. Boston still had plenty down the stretch to hold off Brooklyn, which couldn't stop Scheierman’s second-half surge.

After beating the buzzer at the end of the third with a 3-pointer that put Boston up 71-70, Scheierman hit three more from beyond the arc in the fourth before leaving to a standing ovation with about four minutes left. Scheierman, a rookie out of Creighton, had never scored more than 15 points before Tuesday.

Derrick White scored 18 points, Jrue Holiday had 12 points and eight assists and Payton Pritchard added 10 points for Boston, which won its third straight.

D’Angelo Russell led Brooklyn with 18 points. Ziaire Williams scored 15 and Cameron Johnson and Trendon Watford added 11 points apiece.

Celtics: With 13 games remaining in the regular season and facing the struggling Nets, Tatum (knee) and Brown (right knee, back) got some extra rest. The remaining Celtics beat the Nets for the ninth straight time in the regular season.

Nets: After snapping a three-game losing streak Sunday with a win over Atlanta and leading after two periods Tuesday, Brooklyn couldn’t hold off the Celtics in the fourth.

After a layup by Tyrese Martin put Brooklyn up 80-71 midway through the fourth, Scheierman hit the first of back-to-back 3-pointers that put Boston in control.

The Celtics shot 11 for 20 in the fourth quarter, outscoring Brooklyn 33-26 in the period.

Brooklyn visits Indiana on Thursday night. The Celtics start a six-game trip on Friday night at Utah.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard (11) drives past Brooklyn Nets' Keon Johnson (45) during first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Luke Kornet (40) and Brooklyn Nets' Day'Ron Sharpe (20) battle for a loose ball during first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Luke Kornet and Brooklyn Nets' Maxwell Lewis (27) battle for a loose ball during first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Brooklyn Nets' Noah Clowney (21) drives past Boston Celtics' Neemias Queta (88) during second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis (8) and Brooklyn Nets' Day'Ron Sharpe (20) battle for a loose ball during second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Derrick White (9) drives past Brooklyn Nets' Noah Clowney (21) during first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis (8) drives past Brooklyn Nets' Cameron Johnson during first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Baylor Scheierman reacts after making a 3-pointer during second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — McNeese coach Will Wade and his boombox-toting manager gave March Madness its first bracket buster.

The 12th-seeded Cowboys used a stifling first half to open a 24-point lead, and then held off late-charging No. 5 seed Clemson for the program's first NCAA Tournament victory, a 69-67 win in the opening round of the East Region on Thursday.

“We have broken every record in the book," said Wade, who led the school to its first back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament and now its first victory. “This was the last one to get. We want to keep this going. We want to keep this going.”

McNeese earned a matchup on Saturday with fourth-seeded Purdue, a 75-63 winner over High Point earlier in Providence.

Brandon Murray scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half, when the Southland Conference school from Lake Charles, Louisiana, held Clemson to 13 points. After falling behind by as many as 24 in the second, the Tigers rallied, erasing most of a 12-point deficit in the final minute before running out of time.

“We went out there and took the first punch and they didn’t know how to react to that, honestly,” Murray said. “Coach tells us to be ourselves, play with swag. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Chris Shumate added 13 points and 11 rebounds for McNeese, which has been best-known this March for its viral, rapping manager and a renegade coach who has reportedly already lined up his next job — at NC State.

The Wolfpack will have to wait at least another 48 hours, because Wade is still needed in Providence.

Wade celebrated by running into the stands join the McNeese crowd — though even the neutral observers were rooting for the Cowboys against the Tigers from the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference. When he arrived in the locker room, his players doused him with water.

“Coach Wade made this plan. This is not something that started just now,” guard Quadir Copeland said. “This is something that’s been a goal the whole way and it's been amazing.”

A 7½-point underdog, McNeese (28-6) held the Tigers to one basket over almost eight minutes during a 17-2 first-half run that turned a tie game into a 23-8 lead. After Clemson (27-7) scored the first three points of the second, the Cowboys ran off nine in a row and led by as many as 24 points.

Jaeden Zackery scored 24 points, Chase Hunter had 21 and Viktor Lakhin grabbed 10 rebounds for Clemson before fouling out with six minutes left in the game.

The once-feared ACC is down to two teams: No. 1 seed Duke and North Carolina, one of the last teams in. No. 8 seed Louisville lost to ninth-seeded Creighton in another of the tournament's first games.

With 70 seconds left, Javohn Garcia blocked Zackery twice on the same shot and Shumate streaked toward the basket for the long pass and reverse dunk that gave the Cowboys a 12-point lead.

But Zackery hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to make it a nine-point game, Jake Heidbreder hit one to cut the deficit to six, and then, after Sincere Parker’s reverse dunk brought the crowd to its feet, Zackery hit another 3 to make it 67-62.

After McNeese missed a free throw — one of six missed foul shots in the final six minutes — Chauncey Wiggins hit a long 3 to make it a three-point game. Another missed free throw gave Clemson the ball with 10 seconds left, down four.

Hunter drove to the basket, but scored as time expired.

Wade was fired from LSU amid an investigation into recruiting violations, and he took a year off before returning to Louisiana at McNeese. In two seasons, he has led the Cowboys to their first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

Teams have gone cold before – 11 of them have been held to a baker’s dozen or fewer points in the first half – but Clemson is just the second one to do it when seeded fifth or better since the shot clock era began in 1986.

Clemson was 1 for 15 from 3-point range in the first half and made just five baskets before the break.

The Cowboys head into the Purdue game with a 9-5 record in nonconference games this year, including two losses to SEC teams in the regular season. Under Wade, they are 1-0 against the Big Ten, beating Michigan in Ann Arbor last year.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Clemson guard Jaeden Zackery, left, react after a loss to McNeese State in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)