The Nets challenge the Celtics
The Brooklyn Nets appeared on the playoffs, and no matter how far they were in the East, as long as Irving and Durant were healthy on the court, no team would dare to look down on them, including the Boston Celtics. Having to praise the Celtics' guts, the Bucks and 76ers all managed to avoid it, but the Celtics hardened their scalps to get the second place in the East, facing the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. Also, the Celtics' starting center Rowe is still unable to play.
The Timberwolves, seventh in the West, overthrew the Grizzlies in their first game. So can the Seventh Nets in the East do that? Everyone is looking forward to it. Teams with Irving and Durant can't stop in the first round of the playoffs, but it's probably not so easy to beat the Celtics, after all, this team's defensive efficiency is the first in the league.
Tatum pressed the whistle to kill
At the beginning of the first quarter, the two teams were still on a par, Durant only had 4 points on 1-of-6 shooting, Irving also had 4 points on 0-of-2 shooting, but Curry Jr. had 9 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists, Chuang Shen also had 6 points and 2 rebounds, the Nets still scored 28 points in the single quarter, the Celtics were 29 points, and Horford had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. After returning from the second quarter, Irving began to exert his strength, scoring 11 points, 1 assist and 2 steals on 3-of-4 shooting, Dragic also had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on 4-of-4 shooting, and the Nets scored 33 points in a single quarter.
Tatum stepped up, also had 11 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists on 5-of-8 shooting, and the Celtics withstood the pressure and scored 32 points in the second quarter, so at the end of the half, the two teams successfully drew 61-61. In the second half, Durant finally found his form, shooting 5 of 9, a variety of unsolvable mid-range jumpers, with 11 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, but the Nets only scored 24 points in this quarter. Smart scored 11 points, Tatum blasted down 12 points, and the Celtics scored 35 points in a single quarter to take an 11-point lead.
In the final quarter of the game, the Celtics fell into a scoring drought, and Ou Shenxian came again, shooting 7 of 9, 5 of 3-pointers, and taking 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in the single quarter, leading the Nets to once surpass the score. Durant also hit the key shot, but who would have thought that the Nets let Jaylen take 2 points in the final moments, and then Durant missed the shot, leaving 10 seconds for the Celtics, who found Tatum under the basket at the last moment, turned around and shot, the ball came in the light, helping the Celtics to beat the Nets 115-114, and the series scored a 1-0 lead.
The Nets expose the biggest problems
Tatum killed and Owen scored 39 points! Nets 0-1 Green Army, Durant is not enough. In the first game of the playoffs, the Nets ultimately failed to perform the miracle of the following gram, Irving played a fantastic performance, 12 of 20 shooting, 10 of 10 three-point shooting, 9 of 9 free throws, 39 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, as well as 4 steals and 1 block, you can't ask for more. However, Durant seemed to be a little weak, only 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 9-of-24 shooting, and did not give Irving enough help, of course, Nash was also to blame.
In the last moments of the game, when he was only 3 points ahead, he let go of the opponent's two-point shot, which was somewhat too much. The Celtics proved themselves once again, Tatum fought hard for 45 minutes, 9 of 18 shots with 31 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, Horford's old man talked about juvenile madness, also had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Brown was 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks, Smart 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, the whole team only had 4 people to score in double figures, but all four scored 20+, which is the depth of their lineup.
In this game, the Nets also exposed the biggest shortcoming, that is, the poor ability of interior rebounding. At the end of the game, the Nets only grabbed 29 rebounds and 5 frontcourt rebounds, while the Celtics had 43 rebounds and 14 frontcourt rebounds, you know, their starting center Rowe has not returned.