Between a Game 4 capital for the rest of the series and the beef between the Boston public and Kyrie Irving, this meeting promised to be electric in many ways. Unfortunately for the Celtics, the many absences (Jaylen Brown obviously but also Kemba Walker and Robert Williams) made the task very complicated against the Nets (almost) entirely. Ready for a modern version of David vs. Goliath?
For the house boxscore it’s right here.
We summarize: Boston is therefore deprived of two All-Stars at the kick-off but also of its interior defender, all against an armada which is slowly but surely rising in power and which only asks to cut its teeth on a prey easy. If that wasn’t enough, recent tensions between Massachusetts fans and Uncle Drew add some spice to this explosive cocktail, all in a full TD Garden that only asks for a spark to ignite. This hope, the players in the green jersey believed to provide it to the fans by leaving a good match despite the means at hand. Jayson Tatum (40 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds) had still activated the Kobe Bryant mode and released the player franchise cape that suited him so well in Game 3. At his side, the Marcus Smart-Evan Fournier duo tried somehow to support their effort to hold out as the storm passed. The storm ? What do we say, the storm, the hurricane which passed over Boston to leave the Celts speechless, without solutions and without answers. This natural disaster comes in three little names that you have heard over and over again for months, but which take on an even more impressive meaning in view of tonight’s performance.
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Gentlemen, HAT! So we finally saw what a match where the three stars are at the top… at the same time! Each in their own way, each in turn or even all at the same time, they have roped through Boston and in their wake, all of Brooklyn has benefited. For some to get an idea: after three quarters, they had planted about as much as the entire opposing team together! We know very well that those who have not seen the game may say: oh, but the defense of the Celtics is not a reference. The problem is that Brad Stevens’ players have defended and not so bad with that! But it made no difference. Even stuck, with their hands in front of their faces, they planted bucket on their heads all evening. And when it was not about one of the three monsters, it was a Joe Harris or a Bruce Brown who took advantage of the open spots to sanction. Shall we talk about the team’s stats for a minute? They shot 58% in overall address, 59% from distance and they put 97% of their shots. When was the last time we saw this? As the baskets followed one another, we quickly realized that the records were piling up at the same speed and we brought you a few. By planting 104 points between them (WTF), The Big Three equaled the best total ever for a trio in Playoffs. Brooklyn also became the second team in history with two players over 35 points in consecutive postseason games. They join the Lakers of Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. Finally, and according to Elias Sports, the trio are currently averaging almost 85.8 points average since the start of the series. If they keep that number above 84.2, it will be the highest average in Playoff history for a Big Three … If some were wondering about the alchemy of the three friends with so few matches on the clock: here is part of the answer!
It was only to be a Playoffs match in the first round of the East, it became an all-time performance and a meeting that will be remembered for a long time. The Big Three of the Nets was scary, now we do not know which adjective to use to talk about them …
Source texte : ESPN Stats / StatMuse / Elias Sports
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