With Jayson Tatum watching from the sidelines, the Celtics celebrated inside Barclays Center after finishing off a sweep of the Nets, becoming the first team to advance past the first round of the 2022 NBA playoffs.
Boston closed out the series with a 116–112 victory on Monday night, silencing a packed away crowd in Brooklyn. Tatum led the way with 29 points, while Jaylen Brown chipped in 22 points and Marcus Smart added 20 points and 11 assists in the win.
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Despite a strong effort throughout the evening, Tatum wasn’t on the floor when the final buzzer sounded. The All-Star forward committed his sixth foul on an inbound pass and spent the final 2:49 of the game on the bench.
After Tatum exited the game, the Nets quickly cut a six-point deficit down to one point thanks to a deep three from Kyrie Irving and a mid-range floater from Kevin Durant. Boston’s Jaylen Brown responded with a bucket on the other end of the floor, extending the Celtics lead back to three with less than a minute to play.
Smart sent Durant to the free-throw line two possessions later, but the Nets star couldn’t convert on his second attempt. A quick outlet pass and subsequent tip-in from Al Horford put Boston back up by four points with 13.7 seconds to play, sinking Brooklyn’s hopes at a comeback.
Durant led the way for the Nets in Game 4, scoring 39 points in his best performance of the series. Seth Curry added 23 points and Irving dropped in 20 points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the sweep.
The No. 2 Celtics will await the winner of the series between the No. 3 Bucks and No. 6 Bulls in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Milwaukee currently leads Chicago 3–1.
