NEW YORK – Late in the first quarter of the Celtics’ game against the Nets on Wednesday night, Jayson Tatum stormed off the court on a fast break and threw away Nets forward Noah Clowney. Tatum probably could have been called for an offensive foul, but he wasn’t, and the play felt like Tatum’s way of showing the Nets that the Celtics weren’t going to be pushed around this time.

One night after coach Joe Mazzulla said his team had lost the physicality battle in a surprise loss to the Hawks, the Celtics shook off another slow start and battled back, cruising to a 139-114 victory in Brooklyn. After falling behind by 13 points late in the first quarter, the Celtics outscored the Nets by 38 points the rest of the way.

Tatum had 36 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds to lead Boston. Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and 12 rebounds and Payton Pritchard had 23 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds off the bench. The Celtics made 22 of 46 three-pointers.

The Celtics had 20 goals and gave up 20 offensive rebounds against the Hawks, and on Wednesday they lowered those numbers to eight and three against the Nets.

After the Celtics’ tough night against the Hawks and generally mediocre play of late, there was reason for them to approach the start of this game with urgency.

But then it started to look a bit like the others. The Celtics scored four times in the first seven minutes, and a Cam Thomas 3-pointer with 3:52 left in the first quarter sent Brooklyn to a 26-13 lead. It was the fourth straight game in which the Celtics faced a double-digit deficit.

Derrick White, who is usually one of Mazzulla’s most trusted options, had three early turnovers and three fouls. After one of those miscues just three minutes into the game, a careless pass, Mazzulla turned to the bench and brought Pritchard into the game.

It was a few minutes earlier than usual, but in addition to White’s mistakes and foul trouble, Mazzulla seemed to know this match needed Pritchard’s burst of energy. Although Brooklyn initially extended its lead after Pritchard checked in, the guard kept things from going from bad to worse.

His four-point play in the second quarter gave the Celtics an upset, and he was at the center of most of the big moments in Boston’s gradual second-quarter comeback. He slid into the paint for a rare tip-in, found Brown for a wide-open 3-pointer and gobbled up a Tatum air ball before turning and hitting a baseline jumper.

Pritchard played the final 20 minutes and 30 seconds of the first half. It’s pretty rare for stars to play such long stints during the regular season, let alone backups like Pritchard. But he helped turn an early deficit into a 65-60 halftime lead.

Brown and Tatum had a strong start on offense. Although they combined to go 4 for 7 from the three-point line in the first half, they had more impact closer to the rim, where they challenged Nets defenders with their strength and physicality.

Tatum scored 11 points in the final 2:15 of the opening quarter, buoyed by two layups and a foul call on another. Brown followed that up with a 13-point second quarter, and Pritchard was almost all for it.

With order largely restored, the Celtics returned to a familiar blueprint in the third quarter by pouring in three-pointers, with multiple sources striking from multiple spots. Tatum led the way by making all three attempts, and Boston was 7 for 11 as a team, pushing its lead to 103-89 at the start of the fourth.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.