Nets recover from stars’ slow start, beat Celtics 104-93
Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant reaches for the ball in front of Boston Celtics guard Evan Fornier during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA basketball first-round playoff series on Saturday, May 22, 2021 in New York. (AP Photo / Corey Sipkin)
New York (AP) - Perhaps it was Boston's defense. It could also have been Brooklyn's own fanbase.
Whatever the reason, the Nets' Big Three were out of rhythm to make the playoff debut.
Once the second half arrived, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden ran off the sidelines.
Durant had 32 points & 12 rebounds, Irving scored 29 points & the Nets recovered from their superstars' sluggish start by beating the Celtics 104 - 93 on Saturday night.
"I think once your energy is focused on the defensive side of the ball, it will start turning to you," Durant said. "So you looked for us in the second half."
Harden finished in just the ninth performance of the season with 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the trio. The trio jointly scored 0 for 11 from 3-point range in the first half, then came out of the locker room with 18-4 to open the third and take the Nets lead.
The Nets announced a sellout crowd of 14,391 after playing in full or mostly empty grounds for most of the season. Harden said the fast crowd was an adjustment.
"It threw me a little farther, but in the second half we became more comfortable and the shots started falling," he said.
Durant, Irving and Harden scored 28 of 31 points for the Nets in the period, along with Harris - who made only a 3-pointer of Brooklyn's first half - another hit for other points.
Harris had 10 points for the Nets, which will host Game 2 on Tuesday night.
"I felt like we did a good performance," Irving said. "We have to do it three more times."
Jason Tatum scored 22 points, but scored just 6 for 20 & could not make it to his 50-point effort in the play-in tournament, when Boston defeated Washington to win the No. 7 seed.
The Celtics scored just 40 points in the second half and scored 37% for the game.
Boston coach Brad Stevens said, "You can protect these guys well and you still have to score."
To show how little the Nets' stars spent together, Brooklyn debuted Harris & Blake Griffin with the Big Three. It was the first time those five had started the entire season together and contributed to an ugly start to the playoffs.
Durant, Harden and Irving were 5 for 20 in the first quarter and the Nets missed all nine 3-point attempts in the period. Boston took a 32–20 lead at the start of the second.
Harris scored 3 runs with 2:18 left in the end and Boston took a 53–47 lead at halftime.
Things changed rapidly after halftime. Harden scored 3 runs after four consecutive points by Durant out side the locker room. After 2 Boston baskets, it went: Irving 3, Durant 3, Durant Jumper, Harden 3. This limited the stretch to 18–4 & made it 45–57.
Irving and Durant combined for a finishing haul in the fourth to make it 12–2, extending the three-point lead to 94–81 on Irving's follow-up shot.
Tip-ins
Celtics: Robert Williams III had 11 points, nine rebounds & nine blocked shots. He is battling turf tow & was not sure if he would play until the warm-up. ... Marcus Smart scored 17 points.
Nets: Irving, who spent two seasons with the Celtics, wore green sneakers. ... Brooklyn's starting lineup was its 39th separate season, setting a franchise record during the regular season. ... Durant overtook former San Antonio guard Tony Parker (4,085) to finish ninth on the career playoff scoring list. Durant has 4,075.
lip reading
Stevens and Steve Nash of the Nets, both coaching without masks, are now allowed for coaches who have been fully vaccinated. Stevens said that this helped the players to see their mouth again, because now with a large crowd on the field, it would be difficult to listen to their instructions.
But there was an advantage of covering the mouth.
"As I always say, with 11- and 15-year-olds at home not saying the wrong thing with masks and not getting caught on the internet has probably become a lot easier than before," he said.
Beating boston
The Nets have won eight straight playoff games against the Celtics and are 9-2, with a six-game win in the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals and a sweep in the pre-2003 semi-finals. This is the Nets 'highest and the Celtics' lowest win percentage against an opponent in the postseason.