Heading into Sunday’s matinee tip-off to the 2022 postseason between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, fans and media pundits alike have been talking up just how great this quarterfinals matchup could wind up being, as both teams feel they have a legitimate chance to win the NBA Finals this year, yet one will ultimately find themselves not even making it out of the first round.
Game One proved to live up to all expectations, and perhaps even exceeded them as it went on to be a full 48-minute extravaganza filled with high-energy, clutch plays, and excitement throughout.
Coming in, everyone and their mothers knew that this series was going to be a star-studded affair, and right from the jump we were treated to tremendous production from these high-end players.
For the Nets, both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving served as the team’s top options (shocker), dropping 23 and 39 points, respectively, to go along with a combined nine boards, nine assists, five steals, and two blocks.
Trailing by double-digits heading into the fourth, the star pair–specifically Irving–managed to will their team back by combining for 23 of the club’s 29 total points in the quarter, and even managed to take the lead late with a few clutch plays from their stud point guard.
That said, as we mentioned, this is going to be a star-filled matchup throughout, and Brooklyn’s dynamic duo simply couldn’t keep up with Boston’s own duet of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in this contest, as they wound up posting 31 and 23 points, respectively, while also combining for 11 assists, nine rebounds, five steals, and four blocks on a highly efficient 49 percent shooting from the floor overall.
The fate of the game ultimately wound up coming down to the heroics of the Jays and, particularly, Tatum, as he would go on to have the tough contest on KD’s shot attempt with under 20 seconds to play, only to then go to the other side of the court where he’d get the ball in the paint, immediately spin to his left, and lay it up quickly with his right hand just before the final buzzer sounded.
As a result, the Boston Celtics came away with a tightly contested 115-114 victory and, in turn, find themselves up 1-0 in this best-of-seven first-round series.
On the day, there were eight players who took part in some on-court action for the shamrocks, and, as a result, we saw several individuals step up in major ways. Unfortunately, some also wound up falling a bit flat with their attempts at contributions.
With Sunday’s Game One now in the rearview, we at HH present to you 1 stud and 1 dud from the epic exhibition: