BOSTON – Jason Tatum gave up a buzzer with a pass from Marcus Smart to give the Boston Celtics a dramatic 115-114 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their series from the first round of the playoffs on Sunday.
Tatum scored 16 of his 31 points in the second half, the last two after a balanced possession of Boston in the frantic last seconds. Jaylan Brown dribbled to the middle and swung the ball at Smart, who shot it at the cutting Tatum, who spun around and threw it into his bed just before time ran out.
Since last postseason, Tatum has had four consecutive games with 30 points in the playoffs, comparing Larry Bird in 1987 to the longest run in Celtics history. His buzzer was also the first in the Celtics playoffs after Paul Pierce in 2010 against the Miami Heat.
Brown added 23 points. Al Horford scored 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Smart finished with 20 points, including four 3 points.
Kyrie Irving finished with 39 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter. But the Celtics pulled the ball out of his hands the last time Brooklyn had it, and Kevin Durant missed a one-point jumper that put the Celtics in the final possession.
Durant added 23 points but shot only 9 of 24.
Boston came out after the half with a series of 23-8 to open a 82-69 lead caused by Smart’s shooting beyond the arc.
The Celtics also seem to have changed their approach to guarding Durant in the middle of the court, standing him up and sending help from above to limit his ability to drive.
Durant and Irving were still finding ways to score at times, but they had to put in more energy to get out of their attempts.
Don’t go on.
With Boston leading early in the fourth, Irving put Brooklyn back in the mix with two consecutive 3 points and a run to reduce Boston’s lead to 98-97 by just over 9 minutes to go. Then, after an empty Boston trip in which Brown and Horford failed to turn up close, Durant calmly drained three from the other end to put the Nets in front.
Brooklyn increased their lead to 107-102 when Durant had a long jump. Brown found a place in the next possession of the Celtics and connected with 3 of the wing. The Nets brought him back after a foul in an attack on Durant. Smart slipped under Irving during Boston’s guaranteed trip and tied him up.
The score was again tied at 109 with less than 2 minutes to go when Durant received a friendly rebound in the jump to bring Brooklyn back. Horford’s next shot equalized again. But Irving was good from the depths the next time he went down to the floor, giving the Nets a 114-111 cushion.
Brown made a layup, coming out of timeout with 38 seconds left.
On his last trip to face his former Boston teammates, Irving received the strongest taunts during the pre-match performance and was booed every time he touched the ball the rest of the way.
Fans also showered a lot of disdain on Bruce Brown, who made headlines last week after suggesting that Celtics greats Horford and Daniel Theis could easily attack inside without injured center Robert Williams III to protect the edge.
Horford played the first 12 minutes as a one-man mission to erase that notion.
Boston entered the league with the best defensive rating after the All Star break and put early pressure on Durant. He tried to establish himself in the position in the first quarter, but the Celtics hit him with the help of defenders, stripping him three times.
Brooklyn finished seven turnovers for the quarter, but that became a 29-28 lead for Boston.
Horford was active all the time, making 3-for-4 off the field with 10 points, two rebounds and a stolen ball.
Boston had to adjust early in the second quarter after Thays scored his third foul. But things leveled off when Drummond was booed for his fourth foul at 4:58 by the end of the period.
The Celtics immediately went 9-2 before the Nets came back to level the game at 61 at halftime.
ESPN Stats & Information and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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