The Celtics led from the beginning as Jayson Tatum scored 29 issues ahead of fouling out with 2:49 ultimate within the fourth quarter, and the Nets trailing by way of simply six issues.
In Tatum’s absence, the Nets reduce the deficit to at least one with 1:28 ultimate ahead of Jaylen Brown made a grab past due bucket to revive the Celtics’ narrow lead.
With out their best scorer, Boston depended on its league-leading protection led by way of Marcus Good — the 2022 NBA Defensive Participant of the 12 months — to forestall the Nets from scoring a box objective within the closing 58 seconds of the collection.
“It is humorous to us as a result of we do not duck and dodge anyone,” Good instructed the media after the sport. “We knew what we had been going to come back in right here and do.”
The Nets had been led by way of a heroic Kevin Durant — who scored 39 issues, together with a three-pointer off one leg which had Good in awe — and Kyrie Irving contributed 20, nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient to forestall the brooms being pulled out by way of the Celtics.
After the sport, Irving was once requested about his selection not to be vaccinated and instructed the media, “I felt like I used to be letting the crew down at some degree the place I wasn’t ready to play. We had been looking to workout each and every possibility for me to play, however I by no means sought after to only be about me. It turned into a distraction every now and then.”
Moreover, a industry in February that despatched veteran guard James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers and taken Ben Simmons to Brooklyn additionally did not ignite the Nets’ season as Simmons by no means performed because of a herniated disk.
“No regrets,” Durant mentioned, in step with ESPN, after you have swept for the primary time in his profession. “S**t occurs. No crying over spilled milk.
“It is about how we will growth and get well from right here. We see we now have been via so much this yr. Everyone within the group is aware of what we went via. So no time to really feel feel sorry about or be too annoyed. It is about how we will in finding answers to get well, proactive as a company to get well.”
Irving added: “Now, we simply search for the longer term as a crew for what we will accomplish for the following couple of years and I am getting fascinated about that.”
Following the Lakers’ failure to qualify for the postseason, this season marks the primary NBA Playoffs in 17 years with out Durant or LeBron James — the respective captains of the NBA All-Big name groups — in the second one spherical.
In other places within the playoffs on Monday evening, the Toronto Raptors secured a 2nd successive victory, 103-88, in opposition to the 76ers to now path 3-2 of their collection in the back of Pascal Siakam’s 23 issues, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
In the meantime, within the Western Convention, a dominant Luka Doncic returned to the court docket with 33 issues, 13 rebounds and 5 assists to guide the Dallas Mavericks to a 3-2 lead of their playoff collection over the Utah Jazz with a 102-77 win.
