Celtics

Watch: Jayson Tatum drains layup at the buzzer to give Celtics Game 1 win

By Conor Roche

April 17, 2022

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The Celtics were on the verge of going down 1-0 in their first-round series against the Nets until they made two clutch plays.

Down 114-113, the Celtics either needed to make a stop or allow just two points when the Nets had the ball with 38.9 seconds left. Boston’s defense hounded Kyrie Irving, forcing him to pass the ball late in the shot clock. Kevin Durant attempted a dagger 3-pointer, which missed.

Al Horford gained the rebound with 12.2 seconds left and in unconventional fashion, the Celtics opted not to call a timeout. Jaylen Brown pushed the ball in transition and got trapped in the post. He kicked it out to Marcus Smart, who drove a few dribbles inside and found a cutting Jayson Tatum. The Celtics’ star caught the ball, turned around, and had time to get up an uncontested finger roll layup before time expired, giving the Celtics a 1-0 lead in the series.

The basket gave Tatum 31 points for the evening, a team-high. But it was his first basket of the fourth quarter as Tatum and the Celtics struggled for much of the closing minutes, scoring just 19 points and nearly losing the game after blowing a 21-point lead.

The Celtics will look to go up 2-0 on Wednesday. They’ll host Game 2 with tipoff at 7 p.m.