Jayson Tatum charged late with a late Marcus Smart assist into a buzzer-beating shocker Sunday evening, giving the Boston Celtics an emotional 115-114 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round season playoff series. With the Nets up 114-113 and searching for a securing crate, Kevin Durant fizzled on a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining. Al Horford got the bounce back, and after Jaylen Brown observed Smart totally open on the left side, the veteran tossed across the way to Tatum, whose catch-and-shoot game-winning move had to endure a video audit.
Tatum wrapped up with a group high 31 points, Brown had 23, and Smart and Horford scored 20 each for Boston. Horford in the end had 15 rebounds. Kyrie Irving had a game-high 39 points for the Nets and Durant ended the day with 23 points for the Nets.