BOSTON – There was a time when Celtics fans were excited for Kyrie Irving. They can remember the summer of 2017 when Irving had to leave Cleveland and landed in Boston, enjoying the Celtics’ glorious past and promising to do whatever he could to help the team win.
But over Irving’s two seasons with the Celtics, all that social excitement turned into a whole bunch of different things: tolerance when dealing with injuries, then impatience when criticizing teammates, then something akin to anger when it turns out that he and Boston are connected. to divorce.
On Sunday afternoon, Irving returned to Boston and a fervent crowd at TD Garden baptized Irving in Game 1 of the Celtics’ first-round playoff series with the Nets, booing Irving at every opportunity. They booed him when he came out of the visitor’s tunnel to warm up. They booed him during promotions. Every time he touched the ball, they booed him. And with another show of strength in a career filled with them, he nearly silenced them.
But in the start of a best-of-seven-game clash between teams with big goals, Jayson Tatum turned the arena into a pandemonium with a layup on the bell that gave the Celtics a 115-114 win. Game 2 is in Boston on Wednesday.
Irving was amazing. He finished the game with 39 points and 6 assists, and his 3-pointer with 45.9 seconds left the Nets ahead by 3 points. .
The Celtics were undeterred at the last minute and Nets’ Kevin Durant missed a long three-pointer after Jaylen Brown drove for the layup. At the other extreme, Celtics’ Marcus Smart found Tatum as the clock slowed as he turned past Irving for the layup. It was the easiest bucket of the night.
“I think that’s kind of the microcosm of our season: guys who move the ball, play unselfishly,” said Celtics coach Ime Udoka. “Everything came together at the last moment.”
Tatum finished with 31 points and Brown with 23 points. Smart had a great game with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Durant scored 23 points and shot in just 9 of 24.
For post-season two, the Nets and Celtics meet in the first round. For the last time, the Nets advanced through five games in a streak that fueled the dynamic between Irving, who appeared to be stepping on the Celtics logo in midfield, and one of their own, Boston fans. threw a water bottle at him.
This series also helped spur a significant change in the Celtics’ organization. Brad Stevens moved into the front office after eight seasons as the team’s head coach. His post was filled by Udoka, a longtime NBA assistant and student of Gregg Popovich, who appears to have been unlocked. The collaborative potential of Tatum and Brown. Remember when the Celtics lost 23-24 in late January? They ended the regular season leading 28-7.
Udoka entered the series, uniquely familiar with the Nets. Last season, Udoka, one of Coach Steve Nash’s assistants, got to know Irving and Durant and their gifts.
“They’re top scorers and they’re going to take what they get,” Udoka said before Sunday’s game. “We have to keep them under control and not let them go.”
In the midst of a sloppy, shady beginning, The Celtics’ best defense He adjusted to the Nets and had seven first-quarter turnovers. The stars of the game – Irving, Durant, Brown and Tatum – teamed up to miss 12 of their first 14 field goal attempts.
Irving started early in the second quarter with a double threes, the second with a pull-up in the transition. The match ended at 61 before the Celtics started to kick in – which was a jolt that presumably relied on their defence. Late in the third quarter, Jaylen Brown blocked the Nets’ Bruce Brown at the rim, then rushed to turn it into a layup at the other end. Then the Nets took their turn, but blocked Tatum Durant’s field goal, and then Boston’s lead was 11 with a 3-pointer.
Irving was virtually unstoppable in the fourth quarter, scoring 18 points in 7 of 9 shots that set the stage for the game’s dramatic conclusion.
The Nets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in Tuesday’s play-in tournament to secure 7th place in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Celtics have had an even longer layoff with a full week to prepare, as they closed their regular season as the #2 seed on April 10. Before Sunday’s game, Udoka declined a question about the pass.
“The mood of the team is business-like,” he said, adding: “We have a nice calmness where I don’t feel worried or ever going to be nervous there.”
The Celtics lacked fourth-season center Robert Williams to guard the rim. Williams was having a debut season. tore his meniscus in his left knee Udoka said the Celtics had prepared as if Williams would not be available for the series, but Udoka did not rule out the possibility of Williams returning, no matter how far. “It’s progressing well,” said Udoka.
Before the game, the Celtics’ gaming operations team spiced things up a bit on the arena’s video board. Flashing a quote from Bruce Brown On how the Nets could “attack” Al Horford and Daniel Theis in Williams’ absence. (The crowd booed.) Horford was terrific on Sunday, finishing the game with 20 points and 15 rebounds, and he was bustling from start to finish. Williams, of course, will only boost the team’s championship hopes.
Nets are also used to waiting. Them waited for Irving to be vaccinated against the coronavirus and when he didn’t want to do it, New York City’s remove vaccine duties so he could play at home games. Now, the Nets are waiting – still waiting – for Ben Simmons to appear in court for the first time since buying him. Mid-season trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons, who hasn’t played since last season, has been dealing with a stubborn back since arriving in Brooklyn and no one has a clue what he would look like if he took the field against the Celtics. On Saturday, Simmons dunked in practice, apparently for the benefit of journalists watching his progress.
“Make sure you get this,” he told those who filmed him with their cell phones.
On Sunday, as Irving and the rest of the Nets went about their business in a hostile environment, Simmons wore mirrored sunglasses in the visitors’ bunker. For at least an afternoon, and by the tiniest margin, the Celtics were the more complete team.