MY ACCOUNT
Kevin Durant admits it will be tough to stop Jayson Tatum after the Brooklyn Nets progressed to the playoffs where they will face the Boston Celtics in a blockbuster first round series.
The Nets got past the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-108 in the play-in tournament on Tuesday to clinch the seventh seed, meaning they will face the second-seeded Celtics.
Durant scored 25 points with five rebounds and 11 assists, while ex-Celtics guard Kyrie Irving had 34 points with 12 assists.
The last time the two sides met, the Nets were beaten 126-120 by the Celtics on March 7 with Tatum scoring 54 points.
Tatum is seventh overall this season for points per game, averaging 26.9 shooting at 45.3 per cent from the field and 35.3 from three-point range.
“That’s a tough question,” Durant told reporters, when asked how to stop Tatum. “He’s one of those players you’ve got to play hard and see what happens.
“He’s just so talented, skilled and efficient at what he does. We’ve just got to play hard and I expect us to.”
Irving added that keeping Tatum quiet would go a long way towards winning the series.
“It starts with really slowing JT down,” Irving said. “He has a great feel playing against us. Everyone else around is very complementary to that attack.”
Durant added: “[It’s about] staying disciplined, playing together and playing with passion. I don’t have the schemes or the strategy to break it down to you. That’s what every team needs to bring to win in the postseason.”
The Celtics are one of the form teams in the NBA, going 35-12 since the turn of the year to finish the regular season with a 51-31 record.
Nets head coach Steve Nash said: “I’m really impressed with the Celtics, the job Ime [Udoka] has done. They’ve been able to build on that continuity.
“That group has been together for quite a while. They’ve made some tweaks and adjustments that have really improved their team both ends of the floor.
“It’ll be a great challenge for us. For a new group to go and play a team like that that’s terrific at both ends is going to be something that hopefully brings the best out of us.”
The Celtics won three of their four meetings with the Nets this season, while the two sides met in the first round of last year’s playoffs, with Brooklyn winning 4-1. Robert Williams III is expected to miss the series for Boston due to a knee injury.
