NBA

Jason Terry effective in Nets return

BOSTON — The Jet is finally ready for takeoff.

After spending the first three weeks of training camp rehabbing his left knee, on which he had surgery during the offseason, Jason Terry made his preseason debut for the Nets Wednesday against the Celtics — the team that traded him to Brooklyn this summer.

Terry had a productive debut, finishing with seven points on 3-for-7 shooting — including hitting one 3-pointer and unleashing his trademark takeoff celebration — to go along with two rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes during the Nets’ 101-97 loss at TD Garden.

“It was good,” Terry said. “It was great. Everything was good except for the two turnovers, but other than that I was good.”

Terry has slowly worked his way back into game-ready condition after undergoing what he said was his first surgical procedure on his lower extremities.

“It’s big,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said of having Terry back on the floor. “He’s a veteran guy who knows how to play. It’s always good to get more of your team back. … He’s ready to go.”

Terry didn’t look rusty, and said he was comfortable being back on the floor. He showed no ill effects moving and cutting after his layoff, coming off of a few screens to get open looks.

“Nothing,” he said. “I didn’t feel it. And when you’re injured, it’s more mental than physical at this point, so mentally I was good. I was able to make certain moves that I wanted to.

“I just want to make sure tonight that there are no problems, there’s no swelling, and I should be good to go.”

Kidd opted to sit the entire projected starting lineup Wednesday night — Deron Williams because of his sprained right ankle and Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez for rest. Pierce and Garnett were at TD Garden for morning shootaround, but were not present for the game. Both will make their official return to Boston on Jan. 26, when the Nets play their first regular-season game here.

Kidd opened the game with Terry, Shaun Livingston, Alan Anderson, Andray Blatche and Mason Plumlee. Kidd said he opted for Plumlee over Reggie Evans — with Evans and Blatche so far being the preferred backup big-man tandem — to mix things up a bit.

“We’ve played Blatche and Reggie a lot together,” Kidd said. “So this is a good time to stagger them and see how they both respond.”

Tyshawn Taylor finished with 15 points and three assists to lead the Nets in 26:41, his first action since spraining his right ankle against the Pistons Oct. 12.

“I thought he looked good,” Kidd said.