The Brooklyn Nets prevailed on the road in Game 4 of the series against the Boston Celtics. With a magnificent performance from his Big Three, the Nets took a hard blow in Boston, and now with a 3-1 in favor they only have to get one more victory to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals; where the Milwaukee Bucks are already waiting. The Celtics had to play without Kemba Walker due to a knee injury, and without Robert Williams due to a sprained ankle; in addition to Jaylen Brown’s well-known season-long loss.
The game got off to an excellent start by Boston, who despite the casualties showed more energy and efficiency than Brooklyn in the opening minutes. A pair of 3s by Marcus Smart stood out, while Jayson Tatum was a problem for the Nets defense. But those led by Steve Nash began to show their best side by the hand of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
By the end of the first quarter, the game gave us a beautiful face-to-face between Tatum and Durant. The Boston team closed the period with 14 points, while KD did it with 17. Overall, those led by Brad Stevens closed with a 34-33 lead.
In the second quarter James Harden began to make a difference for the Nets. Taking advantage of a stretch in which both teams had their second units on the field, La Barba took control of the game, helping Brooklyn get away on the scoreboard by more than ten points. With the entry of Irving and Durant, the difference began to increase even more. The operation of the Big Three of the Nets was too much for the locals, who at halftime trailed 73-60.
Heading into the third quarter, the Nets began to tilt the game in their favor. Brooklyn began the period with an overwhelming offensive performance from his figures, which allowed him to stretch the lead to more than twenty points. At the end of the period the visitors were leading 112 to 91 and heading for victory.
During the last quarter there was no room for surprises. The Nets continued to dominate the ball and did not suffer any shocks at any time. Although the Celtics came to reduce the difference to fourteen points with two minutes to go, it was too late. Final score of 141 to 126 for those in black.
The top scorer of the game was Kevin Durant with a colossal performance of 42 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Kyrie Irving followed with 39 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. While the other star of the Nets, James Harden, also closed a magnificent night with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 18 assists (his career-high in the playoffs), 2 steals and 3 blocks. They accompanied the devastating trio from Brooklyn: Joe Harris with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists; and Bruce Brown with 14 points and 7 rebounds.
On the Celtics’ side, the scoring leader was once again Jayson Tatum, who dispatched with 40 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. But the great performance of the young green star was not enough to face the Nets. Marcus Smart accompanied with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals. But only Evan Fournier could exceed fifteen points (16) in addition to the two mentioned players.
Now the series travels to Brooklyn, where they will meet next Tuesday. The Celtics are bound to surprise and win the remaining three games if they don’t want to find themselves quickly on vacation. The Nets, for their part, with just one more victory, will find themselves thinking about the Milwaukee Bucks.
(Cover photo by Maddie Malhotra / Getty Images)
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