The Boston Celtics’ run in the NBA Playoffs reached its end on Tuesday night, as they lost 123-109 to the Brooklyn Nets.
The Boston Celtics won the seventh-seed in the Eastern Conference by way of a win over the Washington Wizards in the play-in round. Their prize was to face the powerhouse Brooklyn Nets. While Boston did get a win in the series, their journey reached its end on Tuesday night.
In Game 5, the Nets defeated the Celtics 123-109 to advance to the second-round, where they will face off against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. As for the Celtics, they were the subject of conversation by NBA Twitter.
you wonder how far Celtics would have gone with a healthy logo
— blackdragonroll (@blackdragonroll) June 2, 2021
As long as we have the Jays, the Celtics future will remain bright, but Danny Ainge needs to surround them with better talent.
— Dante Turo (@DanteOnDeck) June 2, 2021
The Celtics still have a large window to win a title, but we can’t keep wasting these valuable years with Jaylen and Jayson. Time to make some moves.
Celtics fans seeing their season end pic.twitter.com/1dGK6aSpnc
— Boston Diehards (@Boston_Diehards) June 2, 2021
NBA Playoffs
— Nets As Depicted By Spongebob (@NetsDepiction) June 2, 2021
Eastern Conference, Round 1
vs Boston Celtics pic.twitter.com/1KpcT0GVvb
The Celtics in the locker room right now: pic.twitter.com/JeCFL0COq8
— Brooklyn Netcast (@BrooklynNetcast) June 2, 2021
Boston Celtics and Lucky are outta here pic.twitter.com/b6uMeLNThR
— raMEANa (@Ramina1690) June 2, 2021
Nets-Celtics series recap: pic.twitter.com/wnM3xjomKq
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) June 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/BostonCelts4eva/status/1399911313946578945
Jayson Tatum to the Celtics pic.twitter.com/Jz3Luh0t2T
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) June 2, 2021
Celtics eliminated from NBA Playoffs by Nets following Game 5 loss
Despite the loss, Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum showcased why he is the face of the franchise. Tatum tallied 32 points (12-for-27 from field), nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 41 minutes of playing time. While he did average 30.6 points per game in the first-round, it just was not enough to overcome the three-headed monster that is Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.
Harden secured a triple-double by scoring 34 points (10-for-17 from field, 10-for-11 on free throws), grabbing 10 rebounds and recording 10 assists. Irving recorded 25 points on 14 shot attempts (nine made), while Durant scored 24 (8-for-16 from field).
The Celtics overcame a ton of injuries throughout the campaign, but their biggest blow came when Jaylen Brown suffered a season-ending wrist injury last month. Would they have put up a better fight with Brown in the lineup remains to be seen. Either way, the Celtics can at least take solace in the fact that they made the playoffs.
As for the Nets, they move on to face a Bucks team that swept the Miami Heat in the first-round. Whoever wins that second-round series may very well be the favorites to represent the East in the NBA Finals.