A rough game for the Celtics took a turn for the worse when Jayson Tatum exited the game with an eye injury in the third quarter. He sustained the eye injury after stealing the ball from Kevin Durant on a defensive rebound. Tatum exited the game and shortly after went back to the locker room. It was announced he would not return to the game. Tatum finished with nine points on 3/12 shooting and three turnovers.
The Celtics struggled to defend the Nets coming out of the gate. Brooklyn moved the ball well, and with their offensive firepower, there wasn’t much the Celtics could do. The Celtics, including Tatum, couldn’t score well enough to keep up. The Nets hit 100 points before the end of the third quarter. On the other hand, the Celtics cracked the 100 mark with three minutes left in the fourth quarter. The final score was 130-108.
The Celtics will need Tatum to be an elite scorer to compete with the Nets. Even then, this series might be over rather quickly.
