The Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics series was easily the most anticipated of all the first-round matchups in the NBA, and the two teams didn’t disappoint in a Game 1 thriller that went down to the wire.
The Celtics had an 11-point lead after three quarters, but went cold to start the fourth, allowing Kyrie Irving to take the game over and get the Nets back in contention.
Irving, who was visibly annoyed with Celtics fans’ incessant heckling, flipped his middle finger to the crowd on multiple occasions and is likely to face a fine from the NBA. The trash talk from the fans only seemed to fuel Irving, though, who scored 18 of his 39 points in the fourth, including a clutch three in the final minute to give the Nets a 114-111 lead.
On the Celtics’ ensuing possession, the Nets allowed an easy Jaylen Brown layup to cut the lead to one, and Boston then played great defense to force a long Kevin Durant three at the other end.
Marcus Smart split the Nets’ defense and spotted a cutting Tatum with only seconds remaining, and the Celtics star was able to spin around Irving and hit a game-winning layup as time expired to give the Celtics a 115-114 win.
Here’s what players, fans and analysts were saying about Game 1.