New York, April 24 (BUS): Jason Tatum scored 39 points and Jaylen Brown 23, while the Boston Celtics advanced 3-0 over the Brooklyn Nets with a 109-103 victory on Saturday night.
Making things difficult again for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving with their stifling defenses, the Celtics put themselves in a position to storm into the second round with a win Monday night in Brooklyn, The Associated Press reported.
Loud “Let’s go Celtics! Let’s go Celtics!” cheers erupted in the final minutes from several fans who were wearing green benches at Barclays Center.
There wasn’t much to cheer for the local fans as the Nets are facing a team that won’t let them do anything.
Durant scored only 11 shots, and finished the match with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Irving was 6-for-17 and also had 16 points for the Nets, who have to decide whether to give Ben Simmons his first on Monday in the elimination match.
Boston led most of the way before the Nets cut it to three with just over a minute remaining in the third quarter. But Marcus Smart scored in a follow-up shot, making a transitional jump before Brown stole and dunked to make it 81-72 to go to fourth.
Brown kept the net at bay from there, repeatedly finding a 1-on-1 match and driving to the basket. He set up Tatum for a three-pointer in the corner after the Nets rebounded within four, then made a jump before Tatum converted a three-point game making it 96-84 with 6:25 to play.
The Celtics have brought back center back Robert Williams after losing nearly a month to a meniscus tear in his left knee, making their defense even stronger.
Bruce Brown was the Nets player who could really solve it, scoring 26 points in a playoff.
Durant was only 13 to 41 (31.7%) in both games in Boston with 12 turnovers, and the Knights’ only real hope was that he could get his form back home.
He made 3-man action on his first shot attempt after scoring 0-10 in the second half in Game 2, but could never find space to shoot while committing five more turnovers.
The Celtics limited Durant to just two shots and a 30-25 lead after one quarter, then earned seven straight points through reserve guard Payton Pritchard to open the second and push the lead to 37-25. Boston was still eight goals ahead with less than a minute and a half remaining in the break, but the net scored seven goals in a row and the score was 53-50 in the first half.
Hint
Celtics: Smart scored 14 points. …Williams picked up two points and two rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench in his first game since March 27 after missing the last seven games of the regular season.
Nets: Patty Mills was honored before the start for her selection to the winner of the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award on Friday. …playing Blake Griffin for the first time in the series, he scored eight points. …Director Spike Lee, a longtime Knicks fan, was at the game wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers jersey and hat.
Simmons case
Coach Steve Nash said Simmons sparred 3-3 Saturday morning and had no setbacks. He said he would likely play Simmons in Game 4, but cautioned that because he’s been out for so long, with his herniated disc eventually having more to consider than if Simmons felt fine after the drills.
“There’s a lot of the bigger picture, the bigger context of how he feels, and how well he can adapt to the environment,” Nash said. “It’s a little different than playing a hidden game in the middle of the regular season, so I think there are several factors at play here to assess his willingness to play.”