Two candidates for the Eastern Conference clashed at the Boston Celtics that hosted the Brooklyn Nets on Christmas Day. Both teams were coming off victories at the opening of the season and looking to assess themselves at the start of the season. The contest was extremely fierce in the first 24 minutes of action, and the Celtics took a three-point lead in the half-time locker room. But in the third quarter, Brooklyn opened the game. Led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets topped the Celtics by 12 points in the third quarter and never looked back. They increased their lead in the fourth period and finally came out with an impressive 123-95 victory.
With the win, the Nets reach 2-0 in the youth season, while the Celtics drop to 1-1. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s All-Star duo paved the way for the Nets, with the two combined for 66 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Caris LeVert also added 10 bench points to Brooklyn. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 27 points and eight rebounds, and Jayson Tatum added 20 points and eight own rebounds. It is still very early in the season and both teams still have a long way to go, but it is not an exaggeration to think that these two teams may end up facing each other in the postseason.
Here is a look at three main conclusions from the Nets’ victory over the Celtics.
1. Networks are the real deal
Everyone was drooling over the Nets after their opening night victory over the Golden State Warriors, and with good reason. Brooklyn seemed absolutely dominant in that competition. However, the victory came over a team of Warriors, marked by injuries, who were without their second and third best players. In other words, you could only stretch the conclusions drawn from that game so far. However, Brooklyn came out and supported that on Christmas Day by defeating a Celtics team that was in the Eastern Conference finals just a few months ago. Durant and Irving’s pair were as good as advertised, if not better, and the two combined 56 points on Christmas Day – a great gift for Nets fans everywhere. It wasn’t just Durant and Irving, though, and that’s what makes the Nets so impressive. Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen also found ways to contribute. Brooklyn is deep and talented and as long as they manage to stay healthy, they will be a big problem at the Eastern Conference this season.
2. Kevin Durant looks like … Kevin Durant
There was a lot of speculation about what Kevin Durant would look like after losing an entire season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury in the 2019 finals, especially now that he’s on the wrong side of 30. In two games, the verdict is pretty clear. Kevin Durant looks, well, Kevin Durant. He lost a soft 22 points out of 16 shots at the season opener, and he followed up with a 29 point performance and 16 shots against the Celtics. Durant showed that he still has the ability to get virtually anywhere he wants on the court and, of course, he still has the length to stand up and kick basically any defender. As the season progresses, Durant will probably only feel more comfortable being back on the ground, and that is a scary thought for the rest of the league.
3. The Celtics clearly miss Kemba Walker
The Celtics started the season with few players, as they are without the services of Kemba Walker, who is out of the game indefinitely due to persistent knee pain. And although they managed to win the Bucks to start the season without Walker, it was clear how much they missed him against the Nets. The Celtics managed to stay close at the start of the dispute, but when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving started cooking for Brooklyn, the Celtics struggled to keep up with the offensive pace and, in the end, the Nets managed to pull away.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were solid for Boston, but outside of them, the Celtics needed another player capable of making plays and producing points at a high level. When he is healthy, Walker provides this. Gordon Hayward also provided this, to some extent, but left to sign with Charlotte Hornets in the off-season. Until Walker falls, the Celtics will need to regain the scoring gap collectively. The good news for them is that they won’t have to play against a team with the Nets’ firepower every night.