Jason Tatum had 29 points, Jalen Brown added 22 and the Boston Celtics swept their turn in the first round against the Brooklyn Nets, winning 116-112 on Monday night.

The Celtics are now waiting for the winner of the series between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls. The defending champions lead the match, three wins against one.

Tatum saw his night end with just three minutes left in the game, but Boston managed to be without its protagonist afterwards.

None of the four games between the Celtics and the Nets was won by more than seven points.

In the defeat, Kevin Durand had 39 points for the Nets.

Perfect after nine free throws so far, “KD” lost his tenth. as he tried to reduce the difference to one point, and a few moments later the Celtics scored a place to give them a four-point lead.

Marcus Smart gave 20 points for Boston, of which ten only in the fourth quarter. He added 11 assists on the night of his work.

On Brooklyn’s side, Nick Claxton broke a mediocre record, losing each of his first 10 attempts from the free-kick line.

This embarrassing mark has belonged to Shaquille O’Neal since 2006, when he played with the Miami Heat.

For the Nets, then, the holiday season inevitably came with the bitter taste of a tough season, plagued by injuries, including Durant’s knee sprain that kept him off the pitch for more than a month, the COVID-19 that kept Kyrie Irving. out of action for more than half a season due to his refusal to be vaccinated.

There was also the departure of James Harden, who was hired to compose a “Big 3” with title ambitions, before leaving for Philadelphia, in exchange for Ben Simmons, who will not have played any games with him this season. First in a collision with the Sixers, then in poor physical condition, and finally with a back injury. A fiasco.

So much so that the lack of coherence and automation is constantly punishing Steve Nash’s team, with no solution to fix it.