The famed Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving pairing that (along with now-departed James Harden) figured to lead the Nets through the 2021-22 season greeted the opening tip for just the fourth time the other day. That said, there was every reason for the visitors to approach their set-to against the Celtics with confidence. Never mind that they had hitherto lost 12 of their last 16 matches, including 11 straight to bridge January and February.
Which was all well and good, and certainly logical to expect. After all, Durant and Irving are All-Stars who have the body of work proving that they make each other, and those around them, better. There was just one problem, however: They were about to face the Celtics, a heady 22 and 11 at the TD Garden, and, more importantly, in the midst of a run that had them on top in 15 of their last 18 contests. In other words, they were in the territory of enemies who surged while they swooned.
As things turned out, the Nets did perform better — make that much better — than they were able to in recent memory. They shot higher than 50% off six more field goal attempts, including 44% from three-point territory, and 90% from the charity stripe. They even had eight more rebounds, adding to the factors that a cursory glance at the stat sheet would indicate a favorable outcome. Unfortunately, the Celtics took 18 more free throws, all but negating their other perceived advantages.
Most crucially, the Celtics had Jayson Tatum emerging as the best player on the floor. Considering that he shared it with Durant and Irving, it was no mean feat. When the battlesmoke cleared, the green and white went away with the victory in large measure because he could not be stopped. He wound up with 54 points (off 30 shots), but, even though his output accounted for over four-tenths of the 126 markers on the board, it was his exemplary decision making that underscored his otherworldly effort.
Clearly, Tatum was buoyed to show his best given the quality of the competition. As he noted in his post-mortem, “Those matchups — when you’re playing one of the better teams in the league, two of the best guys — as a competitor, those are the kinds of moments that as a kid you looked forward to,” Tatum said. “When those opportunities come, you try to make the most of it.” He did, and the Celtics prevailed as a result.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.