BSJ Game Report: Celtics 115, Nets 114 - Tatum's buzzer-beating layup steals Game 1 victory

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics win over the Brooklyn Nets, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The game opened with what felt like a million fouls (it was actually 18 in the first quarter, the most fouls called in any first quarter this season in the NBA) and no flow. Eventually, the Celtics and Nets settled into the game, but it was tied at halftime thanks to some good production off the Nets bench.

Boston came out strong in the third, outscoring the Nets 35-24 in the quarter and building a lead as high as 15. The Nets answered with a monster 17-2 run to start the fourth quarter and take a lead of their own, but the Celtics were able to regain their composure and tie the game late. After Kyrie Irving put Brooklyn up by 3 with 45 seconds left, Jaylen Brown cut it to 1 with a layup, and the Celtics followed that with an impressive stop to set up the final possession, which ended with Jayson Tatum’s game-winning layup. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

Clutch execution: The Celtics were on the verge of a fourth-quarter collapse. The first half of the quarter was eerily reminiscent of the Celtics at their worst this season. They were rushed, sloppy, and they made big mistakes that let the other team not only erase a big lead, but take one of their own. But over the last 5:30, the Celtics were able to get back under control, tie the game back up, and go toe-to-toe until they finished the game. 

Defensive effort on Durant: The Celtics did a great job making Durant uncomfortable, leading to a 37.5% shooting night with 6 turnovers. They did a great job jumping on his dribble as he turned, and getting into his air space as he shot. There's a very good chance that this will be his worst game of the series, so the Celtics will have to hope something else works in Game 2. 

Something from just about everybody: Aside from a couple of guys, the Celtics got meaningful contributions across the board. This really was a true team effort. You can point to a lot of guys in this game and say “they don’t win without him.” 

TURNING POINT

I’m going to go with Ime Udoka’s decision to sub in Derrick White for Daniel Theis with 4:36 to go. Going smaller with White not only helped settle the Celtic down, White could switch on the perimeter defensively and stay in front of Irving and Kevin Durant. That substitution is part of what allowed the Celtics to do what they did. 

FIVE UP

Jayson Tatum: A team-high 8 assists to go along with 31 points on 50% shooting. He did have 5 turnovers but I think he also played some great defense, picking up Durant in clutch situations and rising to the challenge. He hit some real tough shots in this game, but the cut at the end was great. It’s amazing to see a player get a layup at the buzzer the way Boston did, and for Tatum to recognize that play and make it is a real good indicator of how far this team has come.

Jaylen Brown: His contribution might get lost in the madness, but he had 9 fourth-quarter points and he is the guy who make that entire last play possible. 

“Jaylen had (Goran) Dragic on him and I loved what he did,” Udoka said. “(He) drove, drew three people, kicked it to Marcus, and we got a wide-open shot.” 

After the game, Udoka singled Brown out on the floor, gave him some good celebratory slaps on the chest, and let him know how much Brown was responsible for that play. He made the right read in search of a better shot. On top of everything he did, especially that fourth quarter, with a bloody nose after an uncalled elbow to the face, making that decision was the most impressive part of his night.

Al Horford: He looked bouncy in this one, catching lobs and grabbing 6 offensive rebounds. He hit both of his 3-pointers and he finished with a 20-point, 15-assist night. Defensively he switched all over the place and had some well-placed double-teams to help Boston get stops. 

“Al was Al, he does it all the time,” Udoka said. “I know it doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, but playing 41½ minutes, I know we have a three-day break coming up catching up on the rest, but he’s doing everything we’re asking him for. Guarding the bigs, playing in touch coverage, to switching, had some great contests on Durant late, and then we knew he had an advantage on the glass, especially when they go to their small lineups and we’re switching, we think we can take advantage of that.”

Marcus Smart: Just a great game from Smart who did a bit of everything. 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals on the night while hitting 4-9 from deep. His two best plays were all about recognition. In one, he saw there were four Brooklyn Nets running away from the baseline after a make, so he hung back knowing he might force a five-second call or a turnover. He got the best case scenario.

And then the assist on the game-winner…

“Honestly, I think we all thought Smart was going to shoot it,” Tatum said. “So last-second shot, just crash the glass. If it doesn’t go in, try to make a play. But when he took that dribble, we just kind of made eye contact and he made a great pass. I just had to make the layup.”

Smart had 11 of his points in Boston’s third quarter, when they were playing at their best.

Derrick White: He is going to slide into the “you can’t tell by his stats” type of conversation, though he did have 4 assists and 3 steals. Again, it was White’s versatility on the perimeter and the ball movement that keeps the Celtics playing the style they need to play. 

TWO DOWN

Daniel Theis: He struggled a bit, though life might have been a bit better if a couple of his early, one-handed putback attempts had gone down. I’m not ready to pull him from the starting lineup yet in this series, but I am going to be watching how things will change with him. He was once again the victim of the War on Theis (if you don’t know, that's a Twitter joke about how officials have it out for Theis), but he also made his share of mistakes. 

Grant Williams: A game-worst -17 and 0-4 shooting from deep. One of those shots in particular was a bit rushed and it stands out as the type of postseason decision that can hurt your team. 

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The Celtics got away with one

You can very easily argue that some of what I’m about to say applies to Brooklyn as well, but the Celtics played with fire in this game and managed to walk away merely singed.

Whenever Durant is a -13, the other team should be winning that game going away. That Boston was able to lose the Durant minutes and still win is an accomplishment. One of the trademarks of this Nets team is losing the Durant minutes and having to stage late runs when he checks back in. 

He’ll be more ready for what Boston did to him defensively. They did a wonderful job making life tough for him once he put the ball on the floor, but that's not something that's going to work the same in Game 2. 

I’ll be the first person to tell you that style points don’t matter in the playoffs. This is very much a survive and advance kind of situation. They need to get to 16 wins and how they do it doesn’t really matter. 

However, they won’t be able to replicate this effort and win a whole series. They’ll have to be better. 

- They got away with one because of what they've become

“The way we started this year off, those types of games, we lost,” Smart said. “We were probably crumbling. And for a moment there, it kind of looked like that was the direction it was going. But the resilience that we have, the approach we have, and the work we put in to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

The Celtics, assorted pundits, and analysts such as myself, will spend the next couple of days pouring through the game film, trying to spot flaws and solutions in pursuit of perfection. Every ounce of analysis is generally geared towards getting teams to put a perfect 48 minutes together, but we always know that's impossible. 

So while we’re going to get to the heart of how this will go down in Game 2, we do have to recognize what was at the heart of winning Game 1. 

The bottom line is that this team simply doesn’t quit. Not anymore. They might not look great all the time, but they aren’t just going to lay down and let it happen like they used to. 

Who knows how this whole thing will go, but this Celtics team has proven itself to be tough in the face of adversity. They never quit, and they gave themselves a chance to win by following the game plan, not chasing personal glory.