Mathieu WARNIER, Media365, published on Monday April 18, 2022 at 00:22
For its first outing in the play-offs, Miami very clearly took the best of Atlanta (115-91). Boston, for its part, relied on Jayson Tatum to win at the last second against Brooklyn (115-114).
The Celtics can thank Jayson Tatum! After an electric match on the floor of TD Garden, the New England franchise had the last word at the very last second against the Nets. From the first moments, the two teams went blow for blow. The gap never exceeded seven points throughout the first quarter, which ended on a one-point margin for the Celtics. During the next twelve minutes, both Boston and Brooklyn had their moment but, again, no notable difference could be reported, Marcus Smart (20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) equalizing for the Celtics just before returning to the locker room. A break that did a lot of good for Boston, which started the third quarter with a bang to break the ten-point lead for the first time. But this effort, the Celtics began to pay for it because the Nets, without making too much noise, found solutions to get closer and then simply extinguished the opposing attack. Led by fifteen lengths in the middle of the third quarter, the teammates of Kyrie Irving (39 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) and Kevin Durant (23 points) completely reversed the trend at the start of the fourth, leading by five lengths just over five minutes from the end of the game. Pushed by their public, the Celtics reacted but never managed to regain control on the scoreboard. In the last minute, while Jaylen Brown (23 points, 5 rebounds) brought Boston closer to one point, Kyrie Irving missed the target and offered a last ball to the Celtics. A good combination then put Jayson Tatum (31 points, 8 assists) in position to shoot. On the buzzer, the ball entered the basket to offer a short but precious victory to the Celtics (115-114).
The Heat too hot for the Hawks
The Heat held their rank. Number 1 in the regular season in the Eastern Conference, the Florida franchise launched its play-offs with a big victory on its floor against the Hawks. Qualified after a play-in earlier in the week, the Atlanta franchise rode on the momentum of this success to stand up to Miami in the first minutes of the game. But, with a very discreet Trae Young (8 points, 6 rebounds), the Hawks did not last very long. It was at the end of the second quarter that Jimmy Butler’s teammates (21 points, 6 rebounds) began to widen the gap, reaching the break with a margin of 19 points. A 14-6 from the return to the floor allowed Miami to get closer to a 30-point lead, thanks in particular to Duncan Robinson (27 points) but, after continuing their march forward in this meeting, the Floridians had to wait until the middle of the fourth quarter to overtake her and reach their maximum lead of 32 units. Late in the game, Nate McMillan rotated his squad, giving playing time to Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (5 points), when the Heat eased off. In the end, Miami launches the series with an indisputable success (115-91) but will have to confirm during the second round, still at the FTX Arena. For the Hawks, this setback is a real slap, from which they will have to recover very quickly so as not to sink and see their season end prematurely.
BASKET – NBA / PLAY-OFFS
Sunday April 17, 2022 (hours in French time)
Miami Heat – Atlanta Hawks : 115-91 >>> Miami leads 1-0 in the series
> Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (ATL): 5 points at 2/4 on shots (including 1/3 at three points), 3 rebounds, 1 loss of ball and 4 fouls in 15 minutes
Boston Celtics – Brooklyn Nets : 115-114 >>> Boston leads 1-0 in the series
12:30 a.m.: Milwaukee Bucks – Chicago Bulls
3h00 : Phoenix Suns – New Orleans Pelicans