NEWARK, NJ -- There goes the perfect preseason, but the Nets have already won more games than they did through November last year.

They couldn’t get their third win in three exhibition games, but they were right there against the Celtics. They were down by three in the closing seconds and with the ball for a chance to tie the game, but the Nets looked a little like the Nets of last season. They didn’t get a shot off and ultimately lost, 96-92.

Immediately, we think of the two games against the Sixers. We know: new team, new plays, new players. But it was a bad play in crunch time.

Avery Johnson had Terrence Williams, Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, Kris Humphries and Damion James on the floor. You knew the play was either going to be for Morrow -– arguably the best 3-point shooter in the game –- or Farmar, who buried a game-tying 3-pointer with 59 seconds left.

Morrow inbounded the ball to Williams, the playmaker. He dribbled toward the top, turned and threw it to Morrow on the wing. But Morrow was out of bounds –- Celtics ball. One Nate Robinson free throw later, the game was over.

“It was good for Terrence and Jordan and Morrow because Morrow’s going to be out there in those situations,” Johnson said. “We definitely can’t step out of bounds when we’re trying to run a play for him. We had so many good teaching points from this game that we’re going to be able to utilize when we go forward.”

Johnson can show the Nets how bad they were defensively after the first quarter: the Celtics shot 68.4 percent in the second and scored 37 points. He can show them how they have to take better care of the ball. He can show rookie Derrick Favors how to stay out of foul trouble; Favors was in bad position most of the night. His line was three points, four rebounds and six fouls.

But that’s what preseason is for -– to learn and work out the kinks. You also can’t overlook the team the Nets played. None of the Celtics’ starters played more than 17:58, but it’s still a team, top to bottom, that knows how to win, and they play every possession hard.

That’s another thing Johnson can show the Nets: You’re not always going to have the best talent, but if you play hard, you give yourselves a chance to win. That’s what the Nets did last night. Now they have to work on late-game execution, because if you play hard and give yourself a chance, you will be in tight games late.

If it were a real game and the Nets had the same roster they played with last night, Devin Harris and Brook Lopez would have been on the floor. Maybe Johnson would have stayed with Farmar, or he could have tried Travis Outlaw instead of James. But the Celtics would have had their best defensive team on the floor. It usually starts with Kevin Garnett.

The Nets just have to keep working and playing with this type of effort and intensity. That should be the biggest thing they take from playing the Celtics.

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Lopez led the Nets with 23 points in just 24 minutes. He picked up three quick fouls on Shaquille O'Neal and scored 13 of his points from the line.

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Coach’s Corner
“He just struggled with some fouls. That’s what preseason is all about. I’m hoping if he’s not struggling with fouls so much, we can get him in some sort of rhythm and keep him out there a lot longer. He’s talented. He’s going through some growing pains as we expected for a 19-year-old, true 19-year-old rookie.”

- Johnson on Favors’ rough night.

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Follow me on Twitter: @Al_Iannazzone

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Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)