The Boston Celtics completed a comprehensive play-off sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, capping the four-game series with a 116-112 win.
The pockets of Boston fans in New York showered Jayson Tatum with ‘MVP’ chants as he dropped 29 points, Jaylen Brown adding another 22 and Marcus Smart 20.
The game was essentially sealed late on when Al Horford’s putback after a Smart miss gave them a four-point cushion with 14 seconds left.
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Kevin Durant had 39 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, but clanked a late three after Horford’s bucket, ending any remote hopes of a last-second comeback.
Seth Curry, who was one of the other pieces in the trade that sent Ben Simmons to Brooklyn and James Harden to Philadelphia, scored 23 while former Celtic Kyrie Irving had 20.
Australia’s Patty Mills had five points and two rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
Durant had not lost in the first round of a play-off series since he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2010, having won nine-straight.
The Celtics had multiple big leads before Tatum fouled out thanks to a controversial offensive foul call with three minutes remaining, and the lead was whittled all the way down to a single point with 90 seconds left, but Brooklyn could never take the lead.
The Nets were hoping to have Simmons available for the game, but he was scratched shortly after their game three loss – an announcement that drew a lot of criticism from basketball media.
Coach Steve Nash said he didn’t want to speak for Simmons, but acknowledged there was a mental side beyond the physical problems he is facing. Simmons cited mental health concerns as a reason he sought to leave Philadelphia and didn’t suit up for the 76ers this season.
“I think Ben has addressed that there is a mental component with what he’s going through, but how much and where he’s at with that is not for me to speak about,” Nash said.
“But as far as an organisation, we’re really pushing to support Ben in any way we can to help him improve physically and get back on the court, and then the mental side of that is part and parcel. They’re not separate, they’re not something that we don’t want to deal with. We want to help if he needs help in any aspect of his life and his game.”
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