The Brooklyn Nets and the Boston Celtics faced each other in the first round of the playoffs. The game gave everything it promised and even more. LeBron James? former teammate was in top form. The air and excitement around Kyrie Irving returning to face the Celtics produced an absolute thriller.
Kyrie Irving dropped a masterclass performance of 39 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Kevin Durant also got 23 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds. The duo showed why they are so deadly together as they tried to make a surging comeback to win the game. They almost did before Jayson Tatum scored a layup and won the game for the Boston Celtics in literally the dying seconds.
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Jayson Tatum made a spinning layup as time expired in regulation to lift the No. 2 seed Celtics over the No. 7 seed Nets in Game 1. The last-second layup resulted in a 115-114 victory for the Boston Celtics. The Celtics home crowd was elated and jumped in joy as the last second of the game decided their victory.
After Kyrie had spoken about moving on from his Celtics era, he dropped a performance worthy of praise. The credit for Celtics’ win has to go to Jayson Tatum?s 31 points and the winning layup in the dying seconds. Although Kyrie?s 39-point piece was not enough for the Nets to win the game, it did not go unnoticed.
Also Read: Kyrie’s 5-word attack.
LeBron James heaps praise for Kyrie Irving
?God-rie? Irving, as James called him in his tweet, showed a noteworthy display. LeBron James showed love for his Cleveland Cavaliers? teammate after Kyrie dropped 39 points against the Celtics.
Young God-rie is so damn good at basketball man!!! INSANE SKILL!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 17, 2022
It is the truth. Kyrie is that good and has been for a long time now. However, the fans went berserk in reply to LeBron?s tweet.
WATCH THIS STORY: Top 5 Kyrie performances.
https://twitter.com/CantGuardBook1/status/1515811811672702983?s=20&t=o_Jmu7-X2pabxmNcQtpp1A
He acting like they played together or something 😭😭
— Vive L'Amour (@EliTheXIV) April 17, 2022
— KF (@klutchfamilia) April 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/WorldSansHate/status/1515821245325266944?s=20&t=o_Jmu7-X2pabxmNcQtpp1A
Because your a casual he’s been calling him that
— Adi (@ChubbXHunt) April 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/Frenchking91224/status/1515811588321775631?s=20&t=o_Jmu7-X2pabxmNcQtpp1A
— Jake Seivert (@jacobseivert) April 17, 2022
— Hoops Chef (@HoopsChef) April 17, 2022
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— Stephanie D. (@Steffie_OG) April 17, 2022
Despite the best efforts from Kyrie and KD, Jayson Tatum snatched the victory out of the hands of the Nets. The Boston Celtics showed why they are the 2nd seed side. It was an inspired effort from the whole team. Apart from Jayson?s 31 points, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart all scored more than 20 points.
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The Celtics almost always had the upper hand in the game. But in the 4th quarter, the tide changed and until the last moment, it looked like the Nets would prevail. Now Celtics have a 1-0 lead in the series, with the Nets under pressure to win in front of their home crowd to bounce back and level the 7-game series.