Nets' point guard Kyrie Irving drives against Aaron Nesmith. Jun 1, 2021; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics small forward Aaron Nesmith (26) during the first quarter of game five of the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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The second-seeded Brooklyn Nets didn’t wind up having much trouble with the seventh-seeded Boston Celtics overall in the first round of the NBA playoffs. While Boston pulled out a 125-119 home win in Game 3 behind 50 points from Jayson Tatum, every other game went the Nets’ way, by margins of 11, 22, 15, and 14. The last one there was a 123-109 win in Game 5 in Brooklyn Tuesday night, and it saw the Nets’ top three again shine, with James Harden, Kyrie Irving (seen above driving against Aaron Nesmith) and Kevin Durant producing 34, 25, and 24 points respectively (68.3 percent of the team total, down from 80.8 percent in Game 4). Here are some of their highlights:

The Nets will now advance to the second round, where they’ll face the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks (who swept the Miami Heat in four games). We’ll see if Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks can do more to stop Brooklyn’s big three.

[NBA.com; photo from Brad Penner/USA Today Sports]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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