BOSTON — In a first-round game that had the hype and energy of the conference finals, the Celtics and Nets rose to new heights for a Game 1 in mid-April.
The tone remains unchanged, as evidenced by the middle finger Kyrie Irving flashed at a fan after hitting a corner 3-pointer in the third quarter, after a night of blistering boos from his former, unerringly hateful home crowd.
But despite 39 points, including 6-for-10 3-point shooting by the Brooklyn star, the Celtics took Game 1, courtesy of a buzzer-beating layup from Jayson Tatum for a 115-114 win.
