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Kyrie Irving on the ball
Photo: Steven Senne/AP
The Boston Celtics and international Daniel Theis won their opener in the NBA playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets in the last second.
Jayson Tatum scored the decisive basket on Sunday evening (local time) in a gripping game with the final siren to 115:114 (61:61).
"I think that's a kind of microcosm for our season," said coach Ime Udoka about the final move in which all five Celtics professionals were involved on the court, "that the boys move the ball unselfishly."
The strong team performance was also expressed in numbers.
Tatum had 31 points, Jaylen Brown had 23 and Al Horford and Marcus Smart each had 20. Theis started at center and contributed four points and six rebounds to the Celtics' opening win.
At Brooklyn, on the other hand, Kyrie Irving stood out with 39 points.
The former Celtics pro tangled with the fans in Boston several times during the heated game and also showed them the middle finger.
The second Nets star, Kevin Durant, had a poor evening despite 23 points, only hit nine of 24 shots and lost six balls.
In the other games of the evening, the favorites prevailed more clearly at the start of their series.
The Miami Heat, seeded number one in the East, dominated the Atlanta Hawks at 115:91.
Defending champion Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 93-86.
In the west, the best preliminary round team, the Phoenix Suns, led by playmaker Chris Paul, defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 110-99.
In the NBA Playoffs, the team that has four wins first advances to the next round.
Jokic, Embiid and Antetokounmpo finalists for MVP titles
Meanwhile, the NBA also announced the finalists in the race for the NBA regular-season MVP award.
Last year's winner Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), league top scorer Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) and two-time winner Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks).
The race this year is considered completely open, for a long time up to ten players were considered promising candidates, including Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks or Devin Booker from the best preliminary round team, the Phoenix Suns.
The NBA also announced the final three nominees for individual awards in five other categories.
Despite his strong debut season, Orlando Magic's Franz Wagner is not nominated for Rookie of the Year.
ara/dpa
