Jacque Vaughn falls on sword for blowout loss to Celtics: ‘I’ve gotta do my part’

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn says he’s the reason his team came out flat in their 43-point loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.

Vaughn fell on the sword and took accountability for one of the worst performances the team has had since he replaced Steve Nash as head coach eight games into the season.

The Nets entered the second quarter down 30, one point shy of their widest margin trailing at the end of an opening period.

“I told the group I’m disappointed in the fact that I did not have them ready to play,” Vaughn said after the game. “46-16. We’ve been a group who’s pretty much been focused and ready to play.

“I’m always gonna hold myself to the standard that I want to hold them to. So 46-16 from the first quarter, I take the blame of all of it, of not having them detailed to the game plan, the discipline that it takes to get hit on the road and respond, so a little bit of everything.

“I’ve gotta do my part.”

Vaughn said the Nets weren’t as physical as they needed to be to overcome an oversized Boston Celtics team. He said the proof was in the pudding when he put both centers Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe on the court together — something he never does — to combat Boston’s duo of Robert Williams and Al Horford.

“We had two fouls in the first quarter, and we talked about that. That’s the physicality piece that we didn’t bring to the table tonight, and that was shown in the fouls,” Vaughn said postgame. “Overall, if you look at how we were moving, the energy and effort that we needed to beat this team, we were lacking that from the beginning of the game.”

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