(SportsNetwork.com) - The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics will engage in a day-after Christmas matinee on Friday when the Atlantic Division rivals tangle at TD Garden. The two teams are heading in opposite directions at the moment. Brooklyn is riding a two-game winning streak, while the Celts have fallen in their last two. The Nets swept a recent mini homestand with a win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, then a victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Joe Johnson scored 27 points to lead the Nets to a 102-96 triumph over the Nuggets at Barclays Center. Mason Plumlee added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Jarrett Jack supplied 17 points and eight assists for the Nets. I thought it was a great grind-it-out game. We showed a lot of composure and a lot of mental toughness, Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. Brook Lopez (lower back strain) returned from an eight-game absence and had six points in over eight minutes of court time for the Nets. Deron Williams sat out the last two victories with a strained right calf. He has returned to practice, although its expected he wont start on Friday night. The Nets, who have lost two straight on the road, return to Brooklyn on Saturday and play two there before hitting the road for three. The Celtics made an unsuccessful swing through Florida earlier in the week. On Sunday, they fell to the Miami Heat, then two nights later, lost to the Orlando Magic. Boston was game on Tuesday, nearly erasing a 27-point fourth-quarter lead. The Celtics held the Magic to 15 points over the final 10 minutes of the game, but didnt have enough. Tyler Zeller scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace the Celtics, who have dropped two in a row on the heels of a three-game winning streak. Jameer Nelson, playing his first game as a visitor in Orlando, finished with nine points and 11 assists and was vital in Bostons near comeback. Nelson made a 3-pointer and assisted on five other baskets during a 27-3 run that trimmed a 27-point deficit down to three, 90-87, coming down the stretch. He spurred us on and fired us up, Zeller said of Nelson. However, it wasnt enough for the Celtics to come away with a victory. Avery Bradley scored 20, followed by 14 from Kelly Olynyk off the bench. Brandon Bass chipped in 11 in a reserve role, while Nelson finished with nine points and 11 assists. The Celtics defeated the Nets in Boston on Oct. 29 and have won two of the last three against Brooklyn. Boston has won six of its last nine as the host in this series. Adam Plutko Jersey . - Vince Carter, heading into his 17th NBA season, doesnt consider age a big issue anymore. Toby Harrah Indians Jersey . Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed. https://www.cheapindiansonline.com/318u-...ey-indians.html. 8 Sergio Parisse for its penultimate Six Nations match against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. Roberto Perez Jersey . Berdych and Stepanek played all five matches when the Czechs beat Spain 3-2 in the final last November in Prague to win the countrys first title as an independent nation. Vic Davalillo Jersey . Cabrera-Bello shot a 1-over-par 73 and was caught by Webster, who carded 70 at Doha Golf Club for three-round totals of 12-under 204. They were only one stroke ahead of Adrien Saddier of France, the biggest mover with six birdies in his opening seven holes in a round of 64, South African Thomas Aiken (70) and Denmarks Thorbjorn Olesen (68) on a packed leaderboard.DETROIT -- Reggie Bush was worried about how his banged-up left knee would hold up in his return. As it turned out, the Chicago Bears had plenty of concerns about the speedy, dual-threat running back they couldnt slow down. Bushs 37-yard touchdown run helped Detroit score 27 points in the second quarter and he accounted for 173 yards of offence to help the Lions beat Chicago 40-32 Sunday. "I was a little nervous," Bush said of his knee after missing a game with the injury. Detroit (3-1) moved into a first-place tie with Chicago (3-1) in the NFC North. Bush had a season-high 139 yards rushing and a score on 18 carries, mostly up the middle as he took advantage of running lanes created against a line without defensive tackle Henry Melton. "We felt like we could dominate the line of scrimmage in this game, especially after they lost a key player to injury," he said. The Lions scored 24 straight points, including three TDs in a span of 3 minutes, 26 seconds, after Matt Fortes 53-yard TD run gave the Bears 10-6 lead early in the second quarter. Detroit led 40-16 early in the fourth quarter and ended up needing that cushion. Jay Cutler, who had four turnovers, threw a pair of touchdown passes and 2-point conversions in the final 4 minutes to pull Chicago within eight points. Lions receiver Kris Durham recovered the onside kick to seal the win. "There are no moral victories, but I thought our guys played tough for the last 30 minutes of that game," Chicago coach Mark Trestman said. Detroit had a big lead to work with thanks to positive plays it got from each facet of the game. Micheal Spurlocks 57-yard punt return set up Matthew Staffords go-ahead TD with 6:09 left in the first half, when he recovered his own fumble on a 1-yard sneak. Stafford threw a 2-yard TD to Calvin Johnson on the Lions next possession, one play after safety Glover Quin returned Cutlers second interception for 42 yards. "This wasnt a one-man victory," Stafford said. Bush, though, just as he did in his Detroit debut in a Week 1 win over Minnesota, was the star of the day. He burst through a huge hole and hurdled safety Major Wright to give the Lions a 30-10 lead, their highest scoring first half in franchise history aagainst Chicago, showing they didnt miss Nate Burleson very much.dddddddddddd Burleson, the teams No. 2 receiver, broke his left arm in a one-car accident last Tuesday. Stafford completed 23 of 35 passes for 242 yards with a TD, an interception and a lost fumble. Cutler hurt the Bears opportunity to come back late in the third quarter when an up-for-grabs pass was picked off by safety Louis Delmas, who had two interceptions for the first time in his five-year career. Stafford, though, turned the ball over again to give Chicago a chance -- briefly. His low pass intended for Johnson inside the Bears 10 was kicked up in the air and intercepted by Wright. Three snaps later, Ndamukong Suh sacked Cutler for a second time and forced a fumble that fellow defensive tackle Nick Fairley recovered and returned 4 yards for a score that put Detroit up 37-16 late in the third. Cutler entered the game with a 7-1 record with the Bears against the Lions in large part because he had thrown only one interception. He tripled that total in one afternoon, fumbled for a fourth turnover and was sacked three times after being taken down that many times combined in three games this season. "Any quarterback, you hit him enough times, Im sure theyll get rattled," Fairley said. "I think we hit him enough times to rattle him, but he didnt show it." Cutler, who was 27 of 47 for 317 yards, rallied with a 14-yard TD pass to Alshon Jeffery with 4 minutes left and a 2-yard conversion pass to the same receiver that pulled Chicago within 16 points. "I felt good about my decision making," he said. "I just missed some throws." Cutler connected on some more later, but it was too late. He threw a 10-yard TD pass to Earl Bennett with 43 seconds left and found Brandon Marshall for a 2-point conversion that made it 40-32, making a game that was lopsided for much of the game appear to be close. "Three picks and a fumble, its hard to come back from," Cutler acknowledged. NOTES: Lions CB Rashean Mathis left the game in the first half with a concussion and didnt return, and CB Chris Houston didnt finish the game because of a leg injury, Schwartz said. ... Forte finished with 95 yards rushing on 14 carries. ' ' '