[brid autoplay=”true” video=”785451″ player=”23231″ title=”Can%20Jayson%20Tatum%20and%20the%20Celtics%20compete%20with%20Kevin%20Durant%20James%20Harden%20Kyrie%20Irving%20and%20the%20Nets” duration=”96″ description=”Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix details why the Boston Celtics losing Jaylen Brown to injury could result in “a bloodbath” against the star-studded Brooklyn Nets.” uploaddate=”2021-05-20″ thumbnailurl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/thumb/785451_t_1621470897.png” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/sd/785451.mp4″]
The Brooklyn Nets overcame an uneven performance to defeat the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Playoff series over the weekend. That game saw Kevin Durant lead all scorers 32 points while Celtics star Jayson Tatum struggled through a 6-of-20 shooting performance.
With Boston almost in must-win mode in Brooklyn for Game 2 Tuesday evening, things did not go swimmingly for Brad Stevens’ squad.
The Brooklyn Nets opened up a 71-47 lead at the half and continued to pour it on before opting to rest their starters in the fourth quarter. Once the final 12 minutes came calling, Steve Nash’s team was up by 27 points.
Kevin Durant was once again the high scorer in this one with 26 points while Joe Harris chipped in 25 points. That’s absolutely insane given the Nets’ big three of Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. It’s also a scary thing for opposing Eastern Conference teams moving forward in the NBA Playoffs.
As for the Celtics, they are now down 2-0 in the series after a ho-hum 36-36 regular season. Further embarrassments like we saw Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets could very well lead to Stevens himself being on the hot seat. Either way, fans and those around the basketball community had their takes relating to the Nets’ blowout X-point win over Boston.