Did the Boston Celtics take the Brooklyn Nets’ best punch of the series in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoffs matchup? By any account, it wasn’t superstar forward Kevin Durant’s best game, but it also was far from his worst despite being the primary focus of the Celtics’ defense, and it was among the best all-around games of star point guard Kyrie Irving’s career.
Mix in that the team got considerable performances from players off of the bench like Goran Dragic, who probably can’t be providing that level of play on a night-to-night basis any more than Irving can be expected to score nearly 40 points every game.
