Rookie Baylor Scheierman delivers career night for Celtics in win over Nets

As a rookie on the defending NBA champions, Baylor Scheierman knows he has limited opportunities to make much of an impression outside of practice.

Scheierman got an opportunity Tuesday night and delivered, scoring a career-high 20 points in a gritty effort that had his Boston Celtics coaches, teammates and fans on their feet in appreciation.

Coach Joe Mazzulla said more impressive than the career highs for points and 3-pointers made was the way Scheierman carried himself as the Celtics won while resting their top two players.

“The 3s are a plus. To me it was the defensive effort and the offensive rebounding and the toughness that he played with,” Mazzulla said after Scheierman’s career night helped Boston beat the Brooklyn Nets 104-96.

Scheierman saw more action than usual as Boston sat Jayson Tatum (right knee) and Jaylen Brown (right knee, back) against the struggling Nets.

Mazzulla played with his lineups a bit and liked what he saw from the 24-year-old out of Creighton, who was more than willing to dive to the floor for a loose ball or wrestle away an offensive rebound.

What coach wouldn’t like that?

“Whoever’s out there, we have an expectations and a trust that they’ll do what it takes to win,” Mazzulla said.

One of the biggest moments came at the end of the third quarter, when Scheierman beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer that gave the Celtics a 71-70 lead. And in the fourth quarter, Scheierman delivered three more of his career-best six 3-pointers while scoring 13 of his 20 points.

“It’s pretty special. When I hit that buzzer-beater and the crowd was going crazy, that was probably a top three environment that I’ve ever been a part of,” said Scheierman, who has spent much of the season with Maine in the development league and was appearing in his 19th NBA game.

“It’s a lot of fun when it slows down and you feel like you’re just out there playing free and playing loose,” Scheierman said.

Tatum and Brown will be back as Boston tries for back-to-back titles and a 19th NBA championship banner. But, if either superstar needs another breather, Mazzulla and his staff know they have a young reserve ready and willing to provide a lift and some energy.

“He’s got high level toughness to him. He’s got a good basketball IQ. To me it’s just the consistency and the patience,” Mazzulla said. “You can’t get discouraged. You’re not defined by one day, two days. It’s really just a process and the small moments you have, you’ve got to take advantage of them.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Boston Celtics' Baylor Scheierman reacts after making a 3-pointer during second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Baylor Scheierman celebrates his 3-pointer during second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Baylor Scheierman reacts after making a 3-pointer during second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Celtics' Baylor Scheierman celebrates his 3-pointer during second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday fired off another warning to the government of Cuba as the close ally of Venezuela braces for potential widespread unrest after Nicolás Maduro was deposed as Venezuela's leader.

Cuba, a major beneficiary of Venezuelan oil, has now been cut off from those shipments as U.S. forces continue to seize tankers in an effort to control the production, refining and global distribution of the country's oil products.

Trump said on social media that Cuba long lived off Venezuelan oil and money and had offered security in return, “BUT NOT ANYMORE!”

“THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO!” Trump said in the post as he spent the weekend at his home in southern Florida. “I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

The Cuban government said 32 of its military personnel were killed during the American operation last weekend that captured Maduro. The personnel from Cuba’s two main security agencies were in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, as part of an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela.

“Venezuela doesn’t need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years,” Trump said Sunday. “Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will.”

Trump also responded to another account’s social media post predicting that his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, will be president of Cuba: “Sounds good to me!” Trump said.

Trump and top administration officials have taken an increasingly aggressive tone toward Cuba, which had been kept economically afloat by Venezuela. Long before Maduro's capture, severe blackouts were sidelining life in Cuba, where people endured long lines at gas stations and supermarkets amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Trump has said previously that the Cuban economy, battered by years of a U.S. embargo, would slide further with the ouster of Maduro.

“It’s going down,” Trump said of Cuba. “It’s going down for the count.”

A person watches the oil tanker Ocean Mariner, Monrovia, arrive to the bay in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

President Donald Trump attends a meeting with oil executives in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)