Jayson Tatum’s unbelievable spinning layup at the buzzer gave the Boston Celtics a 1-0 series lead over the Brooklyn Nets, who fell just short of a fourth-quarter comeback behind a stellar performance from Kyrie Irving.
The series will resume with a pivotal Game 2 on Wednesday night in TD Garden, and according to Stephen A. Smith, the Nets are already facing a must-win scenario. On ESPN’s First Take, Smith argued that the Celtics’ defense is too good for the Nets to climb out of an 0-2 hole.
“They don’t win Game 2? I can’t see the Brooklyn Nets winning four out of five games. Now I picked them to win this series in seven games, so let me tell you how I think this is going to go.
…. It’s a very daunting task to ask this Brooklyn team to come back from a 2-0 deficit for this reason: I picked Boston to lose this series because Robert Williams hasn’t been available, and even if he comes back it’s still going to be challenging for him. But the reality is if you’re down 0-2, and you’ve got to win four of five, Robert Williams III is expected back for this series…. They’re the best defensive team in the NBA.”
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