National Basketball Association
Brooklyn 104, Boston 93
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, May 22, 2021
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Officials: #31 Scott Wall, #58 Josh Tiven, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #7 Lauren Holtkamp
Attendance: 14391

Kevin Durant recorded 32 points and 12 rebounds to help the Brooklyn Nets notch a 104-93 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics in the opening game of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Saturday night.

Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and James Harden added 21 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals for the second-seeded Nets. The contest was just the ninth in which Durant, Harden and Irving played together.

Jayson Tatum scored 22 points for seventh-seeded Boston but he was just 6 of 20 from the field.

Marcus Smart scored 17 points and Kemba Walker added 15 for the Celtics. Robert Williams III contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots, with the rejections falling just one shy of the NBA postseason record.

Game 2 is Tuesday on the Nets' home floor.

Joe Harris added 10 points for Brooklyn, which shot 41.7 percent from the field, including 8 of 34 from 3-point range.

Evan Fournier had 10 points for the Celtics, who made 36.9 percent of their shots and hit 11 of 30 from behind the arc.

Boston was within 82-79 after two free throws by Jabari Parker with 7:27 left before the Nets responded with nine straight points.

Irving scored five in a row and Durant followed with a fast-break dunk to make it a 10-point margin with 5:48 left. Irving capped the burst with two free throws to make it 91-79 with 5:08 remaining.

A tip-in by Irving boosted the score to 94-81 with 3:37 left and the Nets led by as many as 17 en route to closing it out.

Brooklyn trailed 53-47 at halftime but came out storming in the third quarter with seven straight points and 18 of the first 22.

Harden's 3-pointer ended the 7-0 run with 10:13 left to give Brooklyn its first lead since 2-0.

Tristan Thompson and Walker scored back-to-back baskets as Boston went back ahead at 57-54 before the Nets ripped off 11 straight, capped by Harden's 3-pointer to give Brooklyn a 65-57 advantage with 7:16 remaining.

Durant's basket gave the Nets a 76-67 lead with 2:02 left before they settled for a 78-73 edge entering the final stanza.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Brooklyn
Jayson Tatum 22 Scoring Kevin Durant 32
Marcus Smart 5 Assists James Harden 8
Tristan Thompson 10 Rebounds Kevin Durant 12
Jayson Tatum 9 Free Throws Made Kevin Durant 11
Evan Fournier 2 Steals James Harden 4
Robert Williams III 9 Blocks Bruce Brown 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Boston 93 36.9 11-30 20-26 19 40 12 6 12
Brooklyn 104 41.7 8-34 26-29 18 50 7 7 11
Upcoming Games
  • Brooklyn will play their next game at home against Boston. The Nets have a W/L % of .688 after a win and .625 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Brooklyn. The Celtics have a W/L % of .472 after a win and .528 after a loss.