Jayson Tatum hit the buzzer-beater for the Celtics. David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

NBA world reacts to Celtics' thrilling Game 1 win over Nets

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Vincent Frank | Last updated 4/17/22

The Boston Celtics were involved in a back-and-forth affair at TD Garden against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series.

Boston held an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter before the combination of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant stepped up for the No. 7 seed Nets.

As the two teams exchanged leads in the final moments, an Irving three-pointer gave Brooklyn the lead with less than a minute left.

It also set up a two-for-one for the home-standing Boston Celtics. After a Jaylen Brown layup with 38.9 seconds remaining, Boston’s league-best defense stopped the Nets in their tracks — leading to a Durant missed 28-foot three-point attempt.

Rather than call a timeout, the Celtics opted to run it down the floor. That’s when things got wild. Moving the ball around the perimeter, Marcus Smart ended up finding Jayson Tatum for the lay-in as time expired to give the Celtics a shocking 115-114 win. Check it out.

JAYSON TATUM FOR THE WIN!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/WUr4UsaURk
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 17, 2022

What an absolutely brilliant pass from Smart just as it looked like the Celtics offense was in disarray.

We also have to give Celtics head coach Ime Udoka credit for not calling a timeout after the Nets’ previous possession. Keep the defense on its heels and see what happens. Obviously, it worked out for the Boston Celtics as they took a 1-0 series lead.

An absolute superstar in the truest sense of the term, Tatum led the Celtics with 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Irving paced the Nets with 39 points while Durant chipped in 23 points on just 9-of-24 shooting after making NBA Playoff history earlier in the game.

NBA world reacts to thrilling Boston Celtics Game 1 win

Wow what a finish…
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) April 17, 2022

NBA PLAYOFFS!!! Wow
— Dejounte Murray (@DejounteMurray) April 17, 2022

Watching this game is how I imagine Tony Montana felt in the last scene of Scarface
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) April 17, 2022

That was entertaining. Damn. What a play by Tatum and what a quarter by Kyrie. Whatever you think about him, he’s pure hoop genius. Fun.
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) April 17, 2022

Incredible game. Unbelievable finish. An all-timer already.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) April 17, 2022

That might have been the best playoff game I've seen and it's only Easter.
— Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney) April 17, 2022

This series just unfair man. No way one of these teams should be leaving after the first round
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) April 17, 2022

Incredible poise on that pass by Marcus Smart. He had a tremendous game. Such a ridiculously valuable player. #Celtics
— Alan Hahn (@alanhahn) April 17, 2022