On April 18, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs continued. In today's East Focus game, the Nets took on the Celtics on the road. It was the first match in the first round of the series between the two sides, so it was particularly interesting.
After the game began, Durant was heavily guarded by the Green Army players, which made Durant play a ten-fold game. Durant hit just one mid-range shot throughout the first quarter, and his other four mid-range attempts and outside shots were all offside. He had four points and two rebounds on 1-of-6 shooting in the quarter. This performance continued into the second quarter of the game, Durant also failed to shoot, scoring 2 points on 1 of 4 in the single quarter. At the end of the first half, Durant scored seven points and four turnovers on 2-of-10 shooting, while on the defensive end, he was repeatedly singled out by Tatum one-on-one.
After entering the third quarter of the game, Durant finally found his touch. He quickly hit a mid-range shot and then hit another horseback archery shot while on the move. However, in the following round, Durant was hit by Jaylen Brown with a strong hat. Fortunately, after the Nets re-freed the ball, Durant received the ball and hit it. Throughout the 3rd quarter, Durant played the whole quarter to regain his touch, scoring 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. However, before the end of the quarter, Durant was blocked by Tatum, and then hit a three-pointer by the latter, which also left the Nets 11 points behind into the final quarter.
After the start of the final quarter, the Nets narrowed the point gap under the leadership of Irving, and Durant hit his first three-pointer today to lead the team back. 1:20 ahead of the final game, Durant hit a steady shot from mid-range in the low post to help the Nets take a crucial two-point lead. The Nets then led by three points, but Jaylen Brown and Tatum hit consecutive hits, especially Tatum's whistle-pressing kills, which made the Nets regret the loss.
In the end, the Nets lost 114-115 to the Celtics on the road, leading 0:1 in the series. Durant played 41 minutes today and shot just 9-of-24, including 1-of-5 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the free throw line, for a combined 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Obviously, today's game doesn't belong to Durant. It is worth mentioning that Durant surpassed Jerry West (4457 points) today to rise to eighth in playoff history.
According to the schedule, the two teams will meet in the second leg of the series on April 21, and the Nets will continue to play away from home.