Revisiting Celtics-Nets season series, 2021 playoff matchup originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets will meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs for the second consecutive year. This time, it’s the Nets entering the series as the underdog.
Brooklyn earned the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference with its play-in victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston owns the No. 2 seed after dominating the second half of the campaign. In their last postseason meeting, the Nets were the No. 2 and the C’s were the No. 7.
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Despite what the numbers say, the Celtics will have their work cut out for them against one of the NBA’s most talented duos: Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. The veteran superstars led the Nets over the C’s in five games last year. Durant averaged a series-high 32.6 points per game while Irving chipped in 24.8. Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum averaged an impressive 30.6 ppg, but the rest of the offense failed to keep up with Brooklyn’s relentless attack.
Will the rematch go Boston’s way? A look back at the Celtics-Nets 2021-22 season series shows reason for cautious optimism. Here’s how their four regular-season matchups went:
Nov. 24, 2021: Nets 123, Celtics 104
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Brooklyn snapped Boston’s three-game win streak in their first meeting of the season and did so without Irving in the lineup. Stepping up in his absence was Patty Mills, who dropped 23 points while shooting a ridiculous 7-for-10 from 3-point range. Durant and James Harden contributed 23 and 20 points respectively to help propel the Nets to a double-digit victory in Boston. The win was Brooklyn’s fourth in a row, seventh of their last eight games, and 12th of their last 14.
It was a lackluster offensive performance from the C’s, who shot 37.4% from the field. Tatum (15 points) was only 4-of-16 from the field while Jaylen Brown (13 points) was 5-of-15. Marcus Smart was the star for Boston with 20 points and eight assists.
Feb. 8, 2022: Celtics 126, Nets 91
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The second C’s-Nets matchup came nearly three months later under very different circumstances. Brooklyn was without its “Big Three” of Irving, Durant and Harden. The result was a blowout victory for Boston that marked its sixth consecutive win.
Smart shined again for Boston, tallying 22 points while drilling six of his 13 shots from beyond the arc. Brown also contributed 22 points and dished out a game-high nine assists. Tatum notched 19 points (7-11) in 27 minutes.
With the game pretty much decided after a few minutes (Boston jumped out to a 28-2 lead) the Nets rolled with their bench for most of the night. Jevon Carter scored a team-high 21 points while James Johnson and Cam Johnson added 17 apiece.
Feb. 24, 2022: Celtics 129, Nets 106
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The Celtics entered the All-Star break with nine wins in their last 10 games and picked up where they left off vs. Brooklyn. They returned from the break with a 23-point victory in a game they led by as much as 29 and never trailed.
Tatum led the way with 30 points and was one of seven Celtics players to score in double figures. Brown added 18 points while Smart added 15 in his return from injury. Both of Boston’s bigs, Robert Williams and Al Horford, recorded double-doubles.
The newly-acquired Seth Curry was the only real bright spot offensively for the Nets, who once again were without their “Big Three”. He finished with 22 points.
This was the Celtics’ sixth straight win on the road.
March 6, 2022: Celtics 126, Nets 120
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Irving and Durant returned for the Nets in their most recent showdown with the Celtics, but it still wasn’t enough. Boston earned one of its most thrilling wins of the campaign as Tatum scored a season-high 54 points (34 in the second half). The 24-year-old outshined Durant, who had 37 in his second game back from a knee injury that kept him sidelined since mid-January.
Brown tallied 21 points, including a clutch 3-pointer that gave Boston a 121-115 lead with 40 seconds left. Smart had 14 points to go with nine assists.
The victory capped off the season series with the C’s holding the 3-1 advantage. Of course, the Nets hardly were at full strength in those four meetings. That makes for an intriguing series ahead between two Eastern Conference powerhouses.
Celtics-Nets Game 1 is set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m ET. Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. with Pregame Live on NBC Sports Boston.
For the full series schedule, go here.
