Kenny Anderson made a short jumper to give Boston the lead, then added two free throws as the Celtics sent New Jersey to its sixth consecutive loss.
Paul Pierce had 19 points and Vitaly Potapenko had 16 for the Celtics, who improved to 17-7 at home and snapped a two-game losing streak. Tony Battie scored all 14 of his points in the second half.
Stephon Marbury had 20 points and 11 assists and Keith Van Horn had 10 points with 11 rebounds for the Nets, but the two combined to shoot 9 for 26.
New Jersey led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter before the Celtics cut it to 82-70 going into the fourth. Boston whittled the lead to six points with six minutes left when Pierce made one free throw and Dana Barros hit a three-pointer to make it an 86-84 Nets lead.
Antoine Walker set Battie up for a dunk to tie it 86-86 with 4:50 left. Kendall Gill beat the 24-second clock to give the Nets an 88-86 lead and, after Pierce hit his first free throw, Battie slammed down the rebound on the second to make it 89-88 Boston.
The teams traded baskets until Scott Burrell’s three-pointer gave the Nets a 95-94 lead. But Anderson pulled up at the side of the lane to sink the game-winner with 48 seconds left.
