Brooklyn’s Big Three put it all together, and other observations from the Celtics’ series-opening loss to the Nets
Celtics #Celtics
Kevin Durant scored 32 points, Kyrie Irving added 29, and James Harden had 21, as the Brooklyn Nets took a 104-93 victory over the Celtics in the opening game of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series Saturday night in New York.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 22 points.
Observations from the game:
· Much like they did during regular-season matchups against the Pistons, the Celtics constantly hunted defensive switches involving Blake Griffin, most often with Tatum as the lead orchestrator. Griffin simply doesn’t have the foot speed to keep up with Boston’s perimeter players. In the first quarter, Tatum attacked Griffin for an easy layup that helped him find his rhythm. In one second-quarter stretch he used the advantage to be more of a facilitator, blowing past Griffin and forcing other defenders to commit, leading to a wide open Smart 3-pointer and a Robert Williams dunk. The Celtics will look to exploit Griffin whenever he is on the floor during this series.
· Williams has been hampered by a turf toe injury over the last few weeks and his status for Saturday’s game was unclear until about an hour before tipoff. But he played and moved quite well, and he had a huge impact in the first half. The most satisfying moment for Celtics fans came when he swatted an Irving layup attempt out of bounds. That was one of his four first-half blocks in just 10 minutes of action. The Nets don’t have a real post presence, but they do have so many skilled players capable of getting to the rim with ease that Williams’s presence in this series will be essential.
· The Celtics took an early 18-10 lead before Tatum went to the bench with 5:07 left. Then they went 2 minutes, 12 seconds without a point before Brad Stevens put Tatum back into the game. Stevens is going to lean on his top players heavily in this series, and Tatum was given just a pair of brief rests in the opening half.
· The Celtics held a 53-47 lead at halftime. But they connected on 9 of 17 3-pointers while the Nets went just 1 for 13. The advantage probably should have been bigger.
· Rookie Aaron Nesmith, whose recent surge has been one of the more encouraging parts of this frustrating season for Boston, was the first sub off the bench. He did not look out of place in the first half, when he hit a big 3-pointer, attacked for a layup, and held up fine defensively.
· Kemba Walker was slowed by foul trouble in the first half, and he wasn’t happy about it. On consecutive possessions in the second quarter he was called for a blocking foul while guarding Harden and then a shooting foul while guarding Irving. He sat for the final 6:55 of the half. Walker rarely gets into foul trouble, so Stevens could have gambled and kept him in, but the fact that the Celtics were playing well probably made his choice a bit easier. Walker collected his fourth foul just 1:33 into the third quarter. He stayed in this time but struggled to get into a rhythm.
· Jabari Parker had mostly fallen out of Boston’s rotation recently but he had a surprisingly lengthy chance and was effective. He hit a 3-pointer and scored on a nice drive in the first half. His scoring ability has rarely been questioned, of course, but he is a defensive liability. The Nets were aware of that as they sought opportunities to go at Parker in isolation, but he mostly held up. On one third-quarter sequence he even stripped Durant on a drive and finished the play with a dunk. Through the first three quarters, Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, and Semi Ojeleye did not play.
· The Nets starting lineup consisted of Irving, Harden, Durant, Griffin, and Joe Harris. That group did not start a game during the regular season. Irving wore green shoes, if you were wondering.