Celtics

The Nets forward said fans often despise their former players because they once were so invested in that player's career and success.

Irving played for the Celtics from 2017 to ’19 seasons, becoming a two-time All-Star during those seasons. As a player who’s on his third team in his career, Durant knows this feeling well. During Game 1 on Sunday, the Boston crowd expressed its feelings for Irving, booing or shouting chants at him.

After Jaylen Brown went strong to the basket for a layup to cut the Nets' lead to 1, Marcus Smart and Al Horford played some incredible defense on Kyrie Irving ...

Coaching - Coaching becomes a factor in the playoffs and becomes like a game of chess. The Celtics need to feed off the energy of the crowd and hopefully, the Nets will be distracted by being on the road and by the very hostile crowd. No Let Down - The Celtics are coming off a big win that had to energize them and leave them on somewhat of a high. The Celtics averaged 46.1 rebounds per game (5th) while the Nets averaged 44.4 rebounds per game (13th) in the regular season. They have to play harder than the Nets from the opening tip until the final buzzer and they have to stay focused on both ends of the court. He shot 49.3% from the field and 46.8% from beyond the arc in the regular season. Defense - As always, defense will be the biggest key to winning and especially so in the playoffs. I’m sure the Nets will adjust and negate some of the effect the Celtics defense had on him in Game 1 and so the Celtics need to be ready for it. He shot 42.9% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. Kyrie Irving had a big game for the Nets and almost single handedly brought them back in the 4th quarter and almost got the win. He shot just 37.5% from the field and 20% from beyond the arc. In the 3rd quarter, the Celtics pulled out to a 15 point lead and led by 11 going into the 4th quarter.

A quick note: Due to COVID-19, sports schedules are fluid and subject to change. MUST WATCH: Brooklyn Nets at Boston Celtics.

But for the Bulls to feel like they have a real chance to win the series, they might have to find a way to even up the scoreboard tonight in Milwaukee. 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT Chelsea sits comfortably in third, with Arsenal in a tie for fifth and three points back of rival Tottenham for that fourth and final spot. SI’s NBA writers didn’t give the Bulls much of a chance in this series, but an extremely competitive Game 1 opens the door for this series to be close. The Sox won the first game of this series with pitching, silencing an explosive Toronto offense to win 2–1. Will we get another pitchers’ duel, or will the offenses show up tonight in a matchup of two teams that love to mash? Liverpool’s 4–0 win over Manchester United yesterday allowed the club to temporarily jump City for first in the Premier League table, but Man City can climb back into the top spot with three points against Brighton this evening in Manchester. Every point matters right now in this extremely tight title race. Last night, we got an upset out west when the Pelicans knocked off the Suns, which gives that series more intrigue when it heads to New Orleans on Friday.

With the first weekend of the NBA Playoffs in the books, the first-round series' are heading into second and third games.Already, there are some must-win ...

But the Sixers only find themselves down 56-46 at the half in Toronto, a game that is still in reach. •1h ago Joel Embiid had five points and four turnovers, playing one of his worst halves all season. •1h ago •1h ago Always. Even when Houston slowed him during the 2018 Western Conference finals, when he was with the Warriors, he was able to get to his spots on the floor. Durant and Irving have hardly hit a shot all night and that’s likely going to change in the next few minutes, as it always does. Celtics slow it down and start having Tatum screen for Jaylen Brown curls to get Kyrie switched on to him, then having whoever Kyrie gets stuck on attacking in iso. This is where Steve Nash may have hurt himself by giving up on some of his veterans the past few weeks. Almost nothing at the rim or at the arc. But in the clutch, he was 8-for-21 from deep. Celtics just held Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to 8/30 from the floor with 6 assists & 8 turnovers.

With the 2021-22 NBA regular season now in the books, the basketball betting market is hotter than ever. CBS Sports will be providing daily picks for the ...

The pick: Sixers -1.5 The Bulls are a jump-shooting team. Brooklyn's supporting cast probably isn't going to shoot 21 of 34 on the road again. With the Sixers humming, that's a recipe for yet another loss. Kyrie Irving probably isn't going to score 39 against the Defensive Player of the Year again. CBS Sports will be providing daily picks for the duration of the postseason.

Boston delivered in clutch time in Game 1 vs. Brooklyn after finishing 29th in clutch play during the regular season.

8-28 (28.6%) 4-14 (28.6%) 35-82 (42.7%) 51-64 (79.7%) 2-11 (18.2%) 46-93 (49.5%) 63-71 (88.7%) 2-4 (50.0%) 46-86 (53.5%) 53-69 (76.8%) 11-24 (45.8%) 47-100 (47.0%)

Several members of the Celtics are familiar with Ben Simmons -- including head coach Ime Udoka, who believes that familiarity will benefit Boston if the ...

"We'll start to talk about him if it becomes a possibility," Udoka said Wednesday at TD Garden before Game 2. Simmons also hasn't played in 10 months, so the Celtics can't watch any recent film on him anyway. After all, Udoka spent a full season with Simmons on the 2019-20 Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant coach.

Well, that one hurt. Game 1 between the Celtics and Nets was an absolute heartbreaker. But, good new is that the Celtics need to win three more games before ...

He also let up a really terrible layup to Jaylen Brown late in the game, which contributed to the madness of the final seconds. The C’s manhandled the Nets by 14 on the glass in game one, and this is where everyone on the team has to work harder on the boards. The duo of Al Horford and Daniel Theis crushed Brooklyn on the boards and the Nets will have to work a lot harder to complete possessions and limit their second chance opportunities.

Game 3 between the Celtics and Nets is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

But when the game was on the line, the Celtics stepped up huge. The best scorers in Wednesday’s game all had varying impacts on the score, but for the most part, they weren’t their otherworldly selves. The Nets had Brown with his 23 points, Seth Curry added 16 while Goran Dragic put up 18. The Nets couldn’t figure out the Celtics in the fourth quarter, and they quickly saw their lead evaporate as minutes came off the clock. The Nets led by as many as 17 points late in the first half, but a resilient Boston squad slowly kept chipping away at Brooklyn’s lead. While the Nets finished with 17 fourth-quarter points, they were stuck at just six points late in the quarter.

Ben Simmons has been ruled out for Game 2 between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday evening, but according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, ...

- CAN KRISTAPS STILL BE AN ALL-STAR? Ben Stinar and Haley Jordan sat down to talk about Washington Wizards star Kristaps Porzingis in a recent episode of Stinar For 3. - KEMBA WALKER CAN STILL HELP A CONTENDING TEAM: Kemba Walker's tenure with the New York Knicks appears to have ended. Boston on Monday is looming as a realistic target for his Brooklyn debut, sources tell ESPN."

Boston won Game 1 with a Jayson Tatum layup at the buzzer.

The Nets nearly won Game 1 despite Durant having a subpar performance, and three out of their five starters failing to score in double figures. Durant is likely to have a bounce back performance in Game 2, plus the Nets should be motivated not to fall behind by two games. Four out of the Celtics' five starters -- Tatum, Brown, Smart and Horford -- scored 20-plus points in the first game, and they did a lot of damage in the paint specifically. Another storyline to keep an eye on with the Nets is Kyrie Irving, who was just fined $50,000 by the NBA for flipping off Boston fans during Game 1. It was a back-and-forth battle that culminated with Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum converting a layup off of a pass from Marcus Smart as time expired to propel Boston to a 115-114 victory and a 1-0 lead in the series. It will be tough for Game 2 to match Game 1 in terms of excitement, but we can certainly hope that it does.

The Boston Celtics are two wins away from knocking out Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the first round.

The Nets were UNDER the jail to start the fourth quarter, shooting only 2/12 by the halfway mark of the quarter as Boston went on a 15-2 run behind Jaylen Brown and checks notes Payton Pritchard (10 points on 5-7 shooting). When the fourth quarter lights turned on, Jaylen Brown snapped out of his funk for the second game in a row. For the Celtics, Al Horford (16 points, 6 rebounds) continued being the biggest body in the paint and a steadying presence, while Daniel Theis (15 points, 6 rebounds) and Grant Williams (17 points, best career playoff game) took turns getting the Celtics easy buckets when nothing came easy. Brooklyn was much more effective on the glass tonight, which helped the Nets stay in command for much of the first half. The Boston Celtics rallied from down 17 to take a commanding 2-0 lead against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs with the 114-107 win. It opened up on a 9-0 Bruce Brown run, and the first quarter ended on a 9-0 Grant Williams run.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 22 points. Jayson Tatum added 19 points and 10 assists.

With one dramatic sequence, the Celtics took the series lead Sunday. With one dramatic sequence, the Celtics took the series lead Sunday. Can it keep up as the series carries on?

The Boston Celtics take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Brooklyn Nets after grinding out a 114-107 win Wednesday night. Boston's defense was the ...

That's not going to get it done against the Celtics, and Brooklyn will have to hope that Irving can get going in Game 3, because if Boston puts the clamps on Durant again, it'll need Irving to step up. The Celtics are going to continue to swarm Durant every trip down the floor, and Irving needs to be able to pick up the slack when that happens. He impacted the game with his passing in the first half, then began to take over down the stretch with his scoring to help Boston pull out a win. He wasn't attacking the rim as much, or creating opportunities for his teammates, and instead was forcing a couple shots and became a non-factor in the fourth quarter as he went 1 of 4 for just two points in the final 12 minutes of the game. The Nets can't afford for Irving to have an off night because they don't have the depth where they can rely on guys when the stars are feeling defensive pressure. In the first quarter he and Daniel Theis were the only two players on the Celtics who could get anything going on offense, and kept the game within reach as Brooklyn came out of the gates attacking. This is without a doubt the best any team has ever defended Durant, and it's going to force Brooklyn to adjust for the rest of the series to try and figure out a way to get him better opportunities. K.D. finished with 27 points, but he went just 4 of 17 from the field, and if it weren't for the 18 points at the free throw line he would've had just nine points in the game. The series will now shift to Brooklyn for the next two games, as the Nets try and get back in this series against a dominant Boston team. The Celtics weren't allowing any breathing room for Durant to do anything on offense, and it didn't matter who was in front of him either. The Boston Celtics take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Brooklyn Nets after grinding out a 114-107 win Wednesday night. Durant has built a legacy off being one of the most difficult players in NBA history to guard.

When the game mattered most, the Brooklyn Nets superstar duo folded and the Boston Celtics dominated the fourth quarter to seal a 2-0 first-round series ...

The start to the fourth proved disastrous for Brooklyn. The Celtics manned a 10-0 run behind the hot play of Jaylen Brown and took their first lead of the game after Payton Prichard nailed a 20-foot jumper with 7:34 left on the game clock. The battle-tested guard delivered an offensive takeover of 16 points (team-high at halftime) on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 shooting from behind the arc in 11 minutes off the bench to grow Brooklyn’s lead to 17. The momentum continued to build for the Celtics, and after a 7-0 run, Boston knotted the contest up at 79 entering the final three minutes of play — a span during which Nash declined to call a timeout. Luckily for the Nets, the team got the Celtics in the bonus at the 6:54 mark. Marcus Smart answered with a 6-0 run to get the Celtics within seven points with 6:34 left in the quarter. Despite coughing up four turnovers in less than four minutes, the Celtics failed to capitalize with a run of their own with the Nets caressing a 10-point lead midway through the period. Brooklyn kept going in the second, converting defense into offense to grow their lead to 14 points at the 7:28 mark. With the defeat, the Nets head back to Brooklyn Saturday in a dangerous 2-0 hole. The Nets superstar tallied 10 points in the opening quarter capitalizing on off-ball movement from the supporting cast to generate a collective offense. After scoring 12 of Brooklyn’s first 16 points, Brown took a seat on the bench, and Durant got going. For the Celtics, seven of the eight players who played finished in double-figures, led by Jaylen Brown with 22 points. Goran Dragic stepped up again for Brooklyn and finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and a steal in 20 minutes.

The Nets' Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant and the Celtics' Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum didn't have their best offensive games. But Brown and Tatum had just ...

Players movement and ball movement was solid in the first half. After scoring 114 points in Game 1, the Nets had 65 in the first half of Game 2. Not so good in the second half as Irving disappeared. While Tatum and Brown didn’t have their offense in the first three quarters, others picked up the scoring. Brooklyn shot 24-for-40 (60%) from the field in the first half, including 50% on 3s. From Marcus Smart to Al Horford, the Celtics have used several defenders on Durant in Game 2. Instead, he signed with the Nets during free agency. Irving is observing Ramadan and fasting (no food or fluids) from sunup to sundown. He was just 4-for-17 from the field — after 9-for-24 in Game 1. Let Bruce Brown (23 points), Seth Curry (16 points) and Goran Dragic (18 points) score. The Celtics' game plan is not a secret. Boston, which trailed by 17 in the first half, didn’t take its first lead until 7:49 of the fourth quarter.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving didn't click Wednesday, and now Brooklyn is staring down a 2–0 hole against a more well-organized Boston squad.

Later, he praised the cohesion that the Celtics have played with. The Celtics are manhandling Durant. They are squeezing Irving. Bruce Brown and Goran Dragic scored 30 points in the first half. It's desperation time in Brooklyn. Ben Simmons may be coming back—Nash denied an ESPN report that the Nets are targeting Game 4 for Simmons’s season debut—but he isn’t saving them. He averaged 41 minutes per game in the final five games of the regular season. In Game 2, he was a no-show. In the second half, they scored 11. He’s scored 50 points in the first two games of this series. In Game 2, he flopped. Badly. The Nets shot 31% in the second half. He logged 42 in the play-in game. Irving, lustily booed for the second game in a row, finished 4-of-13. Two games against the Celtics and the Nets have been exposed.

Get a recap of the Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics basketball game.

The lead increased to 45-31 in the second, prompting another Celtics timeout. Nets: Ben Simmons went through some contact work with teammates on Wednesday, which Nash called “another step” in the point guard’s rehab efforts on his injured back. Nets: Irving, who is observing Ramadan, came out of the game with 3:23 left in the first quarter. The Nets jumped out to a 9-0 lead, which led to a quick Boston timeout. Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sat courtside to watch a matchup that featured several of his former players. It was part of 23-4 run that grew the Celtics’ lead to 108-96. Bruce Brown had all nine points, part of a 12-point quarter that helped put Brooklyn in front 33-24. Jayson Tatum added 19 points for Boston, which held Durant without a basket in the second half. “It’s on me to figure it out.” The volume ratcheted up after tipoff with the addition of “Kyrie sucks! “We don’t really have time to be disappointed, to hold our heads. Irving had just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting a day after being fined $50,000 for directing obscene gestures and profane language at Celtics fans during Game 1.

Here are the takeaways from Celtics vs. Nets Game 2, as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led a huge second-half rally to claim a 2-0 lead.

I got a chance to experience some of that, now being on the opposite end and going against a healthy Celtics team — without Robert Williams — but you’re just seeing there’s a difference in their verve, there’s a difference in the way they approach the game. 5. Smart was honored as the Defensive Player of the Year prior to the game. “We just follow the gameplan and as best as we can, try to make it tough for him,” Tatum said. It was great having him in the building.” There’s two or three guys hitting me wherever I go, and that’s just the nature of the beast in the playoffs.” “I kind of got better throughout the year. 3. Grant Williams was crucial in the first half, cashing in all three of his 3-point attempts. Their highly successful and aesthetically pleasing style of play at the end of the season has sputtered at times in the first two playoff games, but they hold a 2-0 series lead heading back to Brooklyn. “They’re playing two or three guys on me sometimes when I’m off the ball, mucking up actions when I run off stuff,” Durant said. 2. The Celtics defended Kevin Durant hyper-aggressively for the second consecutive game and were rewarded once again. In the fourth quarter, Brown buried a 3-pointer, then drove straight into Andre Drummond and finished a brutally difficult layup that tied the game. But Tatum — who had been harassed by the Nets all evening and finished 5-for-16 from the floor — very clearly wasn’t giving the ball up in that scenario.

On the final key sequence of Game 1 in their first-round playoff series, all five Boston Celtics on the court touched the ball following a defensive stop ...

A buzzer-beater in a playoff game at home." "We had the game in control then a last-second shot beats us." Instead of shooting, Smart waited for Brooklyn's Bruce Brown to leave his feet and spotted a cutting Tatum going by Irving for the game-winner at the horn. They played a rotating double team on Irving deep in the post and then Tatum bottled up Durant to force a missed 3-pointer. Especially in the first game of a series," Tatum said. Last year, they were overmatched against Brooklyn's star trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving and lost the first-round series in five games.

K.D. shot 4 for 17, including 0 for 10 in the second half, in Brooklyn's Game 2 loss Wednesday.

Durant and the Nets are being squeezed out, and Boston isn't going to loosen its grip. If he doesn't find his groove in Game 3, and the Nets lose again, this thing is over. That's how thin the line is in this series. Durant wears you down over the course of a game, not the other way around. Brooklyn could've, probably should've, won Game 1, but Durant got caught ball watching in the waning seconds as Tatum slipped behind him for a game-winning layup. Because right now, when Durant has the ball In the middle(ish) area of the floor, the Celtics are sinking down with their wings into his line of sight at both elbows. Most of the time, they're coming with a crowd, but in rare one-on-one cases, Boston does have guys who can hold their own vs. We know about the Bruce Brown short rolls and middle flashes, and my guess, or hope, for Game 3 is that Nash will use Seth Curry as a strong-side shooter more often to make it harder for Boston to dig down off the wing. That just about sums up the pickle in which Durant finds himself. He shot 4 of 17 from the field, and he was 0 for 10 in the second half. "I mean they're playing two or three guys on me sometimes when I'm off the ball, they're mucking up actions when I run off stuff," Durant said. You won't often see Durant legitimately bothered by a defender, even multiple defenders, but it turns out, he is defensible.

The Celtics clamp down on the Nets' twin stars, and with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving struggling, Brooklyn's now facing a 2-0 series hole.

Williams, meanwhile, continues to recover from a March 27 meniscus tear, and has advanced to the stage of participating in 3-on-3 work at practice. In the second half, Durant scored 12 points — all from the free-throw line — while missing all 10 of his shots; that’s the most attempts without a single make in any half of his entire career. Tatum still managed to score 12 of his 19 points in the second half. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that Simmons’ rapid progress has made Monday’s Game 4 a realistic target for the guard to make his Nets debut. Tatum didn’t shoot the ball particularly well in Game 2 after his 31-point effort in Game 1, a showing that included the game-winning buzzer-beater. Historically, the Nets are 0-12 all-time when they fall behind 2-0 in a playoff series, while the Celtics own a record of 49-2 when they go up 2-0. Tatum showed that after a rough 0-for-5 start, which tied for his most misses without a make in any quarter of his postseason career. I think [Ben] has got a long way to go before he feels ready to play.” Jaylen Brown capped the game-changing 13-2 run — which started with 44.9 seconds left in the third quarter — with a driving bucket just 45 seconds later. Durant fooled us early when he shot out the gate to rack up 15 points in the opening quarter on 4-for-7 shooting. Once Brooklyn squandered a 17-point lead, you could see Boston was finally starting to wear down Durant and Irving. Jayson Tatum called the performance an “ugly” game, but you can’t help but marvel at the beauty of Boston’s resilience.

If you thought Jayson Tatum's buzzer-beating heroics from Game 1 would mark the peak of excitement for the Boston Celtics in their first-round series with ...

As for the team’s mindset, it could not be in a more confident state. That was also Boston’s best period of the night, as it outscored Brooklyn 29-17 to close out the game. His physicality on the defensive end also played a critical role in slowing down Kevin Durant, who struggled for the second straight game with a 4-of-17 shooting effort from the field. “One game doesn’t dictate a series; one game doesn’t dictate your performance in the playoffs. “This was a humongous team effort, a team win,” said Jayson Tatum, who tallied 19 points and a game-high 10 assists. Meanwhile, the Nets had the game’s top two scorers in Kevin Durant (27 points) and Bruce Brown (23 points), yet they still couldn’t pull off the win.

Boston completes its comeback from a 17-point first-half deficit by holding Brooklyn to 17 points in the final 12 minutes, earning a 114-107 win.

The lead increased to 45-31 in the second, prompting another Celtics timeout. Nets: Ben Simmons went through some contact work with teammates on Wednesday, which Coach Steve Nash called “another step” in the point guard’s rehab efforts on his injured back. Nets: Irving, who is observing Ramadan, came out of the game with 3:23 left in the first quarter. It was part of 23-4 run that grew the Celtics’ lead to 108-96. Al Horford had 16 points, Daniel Theis scored 15 and Payton Pritchard got eight of his 10 in the final quarter. Kyrie Irving had just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting, a day after being fined $50,000 for directing obscene gestures and profane language at Celtics fans during Game 1.

El capítulo inicial de la muy esperada serie de playoffs de la primera ronda de la NBA entre los Boston Celtics y los Brooklyn Nets estuvo a la altura de ...

La banca de Boston no fue un factor importante en el primer partido de la serie, ya que las reservas de Brooklyn obtuvieron una ventaja de 30-17 en la puntuación. Los Celtics también pueden mejorar defensivamente. Aquí encontrará todo lo que necesita saber para ver el Juego 2 de Celtics vs. Los Nets fueron superados por 13 puntos cuando Durant estaba en la cancha, y también cometió seis pérdidas de balón. Los Celtics también tienen mucho margen de mejora. Nota: Los juegos 2-6 de la serie Brooklyn Nets-Boston Celtics se transmitirán exclusivamente en NBC Sports Boston y también se pueden transmitir en NBCSportsBoston.com o con la aplicación MyTeams. Permitieron que los Nets dispararan un 53.8% por ciento desde el campo y un 45.8% desde el área de 3 puntos.

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown anotó 22 puntos, incluyendo 10 en el último periodo, y los Celtics de Boston revirtieron un déficit de 17 unidades para superar ...

Remontada con tintes épicos de Boston Celtics para poner el 2-0 en la serie ante Brooklyn Nets (107-114) de la primera ronda de los playoffs de la ...

Un día después de ser multado por insultar a los aficionados de Boston y hacer gestos a la grada, el base de los Nets, Kyrie Irving, se quedó en solo 10 puntos. Estaba eléctrico, anotando por dentro, por fuera y haciendo la jugada correcta en prácticamente en cada posesión. Tras unos minutos en los que también destaco el joven base Payton Pritchard, los Celtics tomaron el control del partido a falta de escasos minutos para el final. El equipo de Steve Nash, que de momento está decepcionando, jugará obligado a ganar si quiere mantener la esperanza. Impulsados por el TD Garden, que vivió el segundo episodio de su guerra particular contra Kyrie Irving, los de Boston volaron sobre la pista para remontar parcial a parcial los 10 puntos de desventaja. Sin embargo, la energía de los Celtics aumentó exponencialmente tras el paso por los vestuarios. El base lideró una exhibición ofensiva de su equipo, que llegó al descanso anotando 65 puntos a una de las mejores defensas de la liga (65-55).

Nets visitan a los Celtics en el segundo partido de la serie de playoffs en la NBA. ...

Quintetos titulares probables de Brooklyn Nets y Boston Celtics Noticias de Brooklyn Nets y Boston Celtics Boston Celtics

But a phenomenal fourth quarter led by Jaylen Brown brought Boston back from what looked like a sure defeat, and the Celtics now own a 2-0 advantage and all the ...

He nailed a dagger three with 2:05 on the clock to give the Celtics a 12-point lead. The Nets took a five-point lead into the finale frame, but Brown hit a three and followed it with a beautiful layup to tie things at 92-92 four minutes into the quarter. Boston took its first lead with 7:48 to go when Pritchard hit a deep two off the bounce. Boston ripped off a 10-3 run early in the third as well and pulled within five after a three-point play by Brown made it 70-65. Boston overcame a 17-point deficit in the first half on Wednesday night to take Game 2, 114-107. He finished with 23 points on the night to match his regular-season high.

The Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving was fined $50000 for a series of offensive acts directed against Boston Celtics fans in Saturday's Game 1 of their ...

His refusal to take personal responsibility for his own P.R. blunders has been a recurring theme in his career since he burnt his bridges with the Cavaliers, the reason that the team traded him to the Celtics in the first place. In retrospect, it was best for both parties: Irving was clearly unhappy during his time here and his departure allowed the Celtics to rebuild around a younger core. Even Nets fans who are rallying around him now that they have a common enemy in Boston probably weren’t too pleased when their team was stumbling down the regular-season standings partly thanks to his refusal to get vaccinated. While this was happening, rumors emerged that he and Kevin Durant were hatching a plan to leave their respective teams and join the Nets. In contrast, C's fans had no reason to be angry with him at the end of last night’s contest, as Irving scored a mere 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting during the 114-107 Brooklyn loss. Irving, understandably emotional given the absurdly negative reception he received on Sunday, flipped off the Boston crowd and was later caught shouting vulgarities to an individual fan.

Sure, the Celtics have their own offensive threats in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but this is a team that has been defensive-first all season long. They ...

However, the Celtics have Durant second-guessing himself and Kyrie is coming off one of his worst games of the season in Game 2. Sure, the Celtics have their own offensive threats in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but this is a team that has been defensive-first all season long. That said, through two games, the Celtics have a 2-0 series lead in large part because of the job that they’ve done on the defensive end.

Milwaukee won four straight by an average of 16 points and Celtics coach Brad Stevens probably should've benched Irving in the Game 5 finale, when he spent ...

You can select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Click here to find out more about our partners. - Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address

The Boston Celtics take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Brooklyn Nets after grinding out a 114-107 win Wednesday night. Boston's defense was the ...

That's not going to get it done against the Celtics, and Brooklyn will have to hope that Irving can get going in Game 3, because if Boston puts the clamps on Durant again, it'll need Irving to step up. The Celtics are going to continue to swarm Durant every trip down the floor, and Irving needs to be able to pick up the slack when that happens. He impacted the game with his passing in the first half, then began to take over down the stretch with his scoring to help Boston pull out a win. He wasn't attacking the rim as much, or creating opportunities for his teammates, and instead was forcing a couple shots and became a non-factor in the fourth quarter as he went 1 of 4 for just two points in the final 12 minutes of the game. The Nets can't afford for Irving to have an off night because they don't have the depth where they can rely on guys when the stars are feeling defensive pressure. In the first quarter he and Daniel Theis were the only two players on the Celtics who could get anything going on offense, and kept the game within reach as Brooklyn came out of the gates attacking. This is without a doubt the best any team has ever defended Durant, and it's going to force Brooklyn to adjust for the rest of the series to try and figure out a way to get him better opportunities. K.D. finished with 27 points, but he went just 4 of 17 from the field, and if it weren't for the 18 points at the free throw line he would've had just nine points in the game. The series will now shift to Brooklyn for the next two games, as the Nets try and get back in this series against a dominant Boston team. The Celtics weren't allowing any breathing room for Durant to do anything on offense, and it didn't matter who was in front of him either. The Boston Celtics take a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Brooklyn Nets after grinding out a 114-107 win Wednesday night. Durant has built a legacy off being one of the most difficult players in NBA history to guard.

The Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets face off on Saturday at Barclays Center in Game 3 of their NBA Playoffs series.

Nets vs. Pelicans vs. - Hawks vs. Timberwolves vs. Nuggets vs. Raptors vs. Pelicans vs. - Hawks vs. Nets vs. Jazz vs. Raptors vs. Bulls vs.

The Celtics have had stretches -- particularly early in games -- where it hasn't looked pretty. But as our Chris Forsberg writes in the wake of Boston ...

You can select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Click here to find out more about our partners. - Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address

he Boston Celtics' bench was outplayed in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets, but the tide turned in Wednesday night's ...

So far through two games that hasn't been the case. Luckily for the Celtics, they still emerged with a 115-114 victory. Williams scored 17 points on just four shots, while grabbing six rebounds.