BROOKLYN, N.Y.The Boston Celtics got the win, and NBA charities got a little Christmas Bonus.
All left the Barclays Center feeling pretty good except for the Brooklyn Nets who suffered a 93-76 loss to the Celtics.
Rajon Rondo led all scorers with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
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Jared Sullinger and Jeff Green had solid games off the bench for Boston with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Brooklyn was led by Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace who each had 15 points.
With the victory, the Celtics (14-13) are now tied for second in the Atlantic Division with the Nets (14-13), losers in four of their last five games.
Not surprisingly, the game got a bit chippy and the result was a handful of players were a bit more giving this holiday season than they probably would like to be.
Four players - Boston's Kevin Garnett and Courtney Lee, along with Brooklyn's Wallace and Andray Blatche - were called for technical fouls which drop 2,000 a pop into the coffers of the NBA's various charities.
If you're Boston, putting together a win like they did on Christmas Day was priceless.
Boston made their share of mistakes all night, but the effort level and focus defensively was relatively consistent most of the game.
It was the kind of performance that the Celtics have not been able to deliver with any level of consistency this year which is why they remain a team that's hovering around .500 this season.
After a strong first half, the Celtics pushed their lead to as many as 21 points only to see it chopped down to single digits.
To the Celtics credit, they showed the kind of resiliency in the third quarter that hasn't been on display much of this season.
Boston clamped down defensively and pushed its lead back to double digits, taking a 73-58 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Celtics spent most of the first quarter playing catch-up before a 3-pointer by Rondo - seriously - cut the Nets lead going into the second quarter to 24-22.
After a brief exchange early in the second, the Celtics took control by doing three things: Rebounding, defending and getting out in transition.
Once Boston went with that Big Three, it was all Green raining down on the Nets.
And while the Celtics have a number of proven, battle-tested veterans who can lead the charge, it was Sullinger carrying the C's in the first half.
Sullinger, who saw his first benching of sorts in a game earlier this season against the Nets (he played just 8 minutes against Brooklyn on Nov. 15), refused to allow a repeat on Tuesday.
In the first half alone, Sullinger had 10 points and six rebounds along with two assists and a blocked shot as the Celtics led by as many as 15 points before settling on a 56-42 halftime lead.
Contributions on the Celtics roster were coming from unfamiliar places, indeed.
Rajon Rondo, the league's leader in assists, had three at the half while Paul Pierce led all players with six.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn had the look of a team that was dazed and confused, trying their best to shift the Celtics momentum but only making matters worst with a slew of forced and unforced turnovers - 10 to be exact - in the first half that led to 15 points for the C's.