MIAMI, United States —
Jayson Tatum spun in
for a buzzer-beating layup to give the Boston Celtics a thrilling 115-114
victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday in the first game of their NBA Eastern
Conference playoff series.
اضافة اعلان
Tatum scored 31 points to lead the Celtics, who
thwarted a fourth-quarter comeback bid by the Nets to take a 1-0 lead in their
best-of-seven first-round series.
The reigning champion
Milwaukee Bucks, Eastern
Conference top seeds Miami and Western Conference top seeds Phoenix also won
their playoff openers.
The Bucks, led by NBA Most Valuable Player award
finalist Giannis Antetokounmpo, beat the Chicago Bulls 93-86, and the Heat
dominated the Atlanta Hawks 115-91.
In Phoenix, veteran point guard
Chris Paul scored 19
of his 30 points in the second half as the Suns, who finished the regular
season with the best record in the league, led wire-to-wire in a 110-99 victory
over the New Orleans Pelicans.
In Boston, Tatum added eight assists and two blocked
shots,
Jaylen Brown added 23 points, and Al Horford and Marcus Smart scored 20
apiece for the Celtics, who took a 96-85 lead into the fourth quarter but
trailed 114-111 with less than a minute to play.
Former Celtic Kyrie Irving, booed throughout by
Boston fans who still resent his departure for Brooklyn, led the Nets with 39
points. However, Kevin Durant was the only other Nets starter in double figures
with 23.
Irving will no doubt hear from the
NBA after a
middle-finger salute to heckling fans in the third quarter, but he saved his
best gesture for the fourth period, when he scored 18 points to key the Nets’
comeback bid.
Irving’s long three-pointer over Smart put Brooklyn
up 114-111 with 1:04 to play.
But the Celtics clamped down defensively and pulled
within one on Brown’s driving layup. After Durant missed a three-pointer,
Tatum, fed by Smart from across the lane, willed his way through traffic for
the game-winner.
“When he took that dribble, we just kind of made eye
contact and he made a great pass and I just had to make a layup,” Tatum said of
the final play.
A first half that featured 17 lead changes ended
with the score knotted at 61-61, but the Celtics, who had been idle since their
last regular-season game as the Nets battled through the play-in tournament,
pulled away with a 39-24 third quarter.
Irving was unrepentant after his response to Celtics
fans.
“It’s nothing new when I come into this building
what it’s gonna be like, but it’s the same energy they had for me, and I’m
gonna have the same energy for them,” he said.
However, Irving insisted his fan interaction
shouldn’t be the focus of the contest.
“It’s not about the fans,” Irving said.
“The fans aren’t playing.”
Durant said he didn’t think Irving worried about
fans’ hostility.
“I think he just plays his game and does what’s
required out there tonight,” said Durant, who said the Nets could find ways to
improve before game two on Wednesday.
“Obviously the last play was crucial, but there was
a lot of plays that mattered,” he said. “It’s a journey.”
Bucks blow lead
In Milwaukee,
Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead the Bucks to victory,
although foul trouble kept him on the bench for much of the fourth quarter.
Montenegrin center
Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls with
24 points and 17 rebounds, but missed two straight baskets in the paint in the
final minute.
The Bucks led by as many as 16 points in the first
half, the Bulls taking the lead for the first time with less than three minutes
left in the third quarter.
Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday drilled a go-ahead
three-pointer with 5:03 remaining, and the Bulls wouldn’t get in front again.
In Miami, Heat reserve
Duncan Robinson scored a
career playoff high 27 points, and the Heat defensively dominated Atlanta for a
115-91 victory.
Robinson made 9-of-10 shots, including 8-of-9 from
3-point range, while
Jimmy Butler added 21 points and P.J. Tucker contributed
16 for Miami.
The Hawks and their star guard Trae Young suffered through a
miserable night against Miami’s defense, Young connecting on just one of 12
shot attempts on the way to eight points.
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