BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics’ sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs underscored one thing about Boston's late-season rise to the top tier of the NBA's Eastern Conference: it was no fluke.
NEW YORK (AP) — With Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets had expectations of being the last team standing.
NEW YORK (AP) — Even as they rolled through the second half of their schedule, the Boston Celtics knew there was a notion they should lose.
Tanking a game down the stretch and falling out of the No.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 29 points, Jaylen Brown had 22 and the Boston Celtics completed a four-game sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, becoming the first team to reach the second round of the playoffs with a 116-112 victory Monday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jayson Tatum was stunned, yet certain. He disagreed with his sixth foul but had no doubt the Boston Celtics, with their rock-solid defense, would hold on without their scoring star.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are struggling against Boston, and Ben Simmons won't be available to help them Monday night with the Brooklyn Nets' season on the brink.
NEW YORK (AP) — The stoppers are suffocating the scorers.
And as Boston was finishing another shutdown effort against Kevin Durant and the Nets, a loud “Let’s Go Celtics! Let’s Go Celtics!” chant broke out from the many fans in green who had seats in Barclays Center.
NEW YORK (AP) — Scoring has rarely looked so difficult for Kevin Durant.
A four-time NBA leader who averaged 29.9 points this season, Durant missed each of his 10 shots in the second half of Game 2 against Boston.
BOSTON (AP) — Kyrie Irving behaved himself.
He just didn’t play very well.
One day after he was fined for cursing at Boston fans and giving them the finger, the Nets point guard managed just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting Wednesday night in Brooklyn’s 114-107 loss to the Celtics.
BOSTON (AP) — Celtics fans got under Kyrie Irving’s skin in the opening game of their first-round matchup with the Nets.
It was Boston’s defense that kept him – and Kevin Durant – off balance in Game 2.
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum made a layup at the buzzer off a pass from Marcus Smart to give the Boston Celtics a dramatic 115-114 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday in the Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series.
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum has been adamant he didn’t view the Celtics’ matchup with the Nets as a chance to prove anything opposite two of the league’s elite scorers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving cost himself millions of dollars in salary. He may have cost the Brooklyn Nets any realistic chance of winning the NBA title.
His decision not to be vaccinated against the coronavirus put him on center stage of the debate and left him ineligible to play in New York for most of the season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Bring on Boston.
That's the next stop on a recent rise for the Brooklyn Nets, who were in 10th place not long ago but don't look like an underdog right now.
Kyrie Irving had 34 points and 12 assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists, and the Nets took the No.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have played in the NBA Finals and Olympics, so they've been in just about every kind of big game there is.
The play-in tournament is something new for them, and the Brooklyn Nets certainly didn't expect to experience it this year.
NEW YORK (AP) — Four wins in the final week sent the Brooklyn Nets surging up to seventh in the Eastern Conference.
One more win sends them to the playoffs.
“Now we get to carry some of that momentum on into Tuesday,” Kyrie Irving said.
Joel Embiid is about to make a lot of history. And a half-dozen first-round or play-in game matchups are set to be decided.
The final day of the NBA season has no shortage of storylines.
A new scoring champion will be crowned and, barring something crazy, Embiid — who hails from Cameroon — will become the first international player to win that title.
NEW YORK (AP) — After a season full of complications, things are finally simple for the Brooklyn Nets.
Win two games at home and they're in the playoffs.
Kevin Durant scored 36 points, leading a pair of fourth-quarter surges that carried the Nets into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 118-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant had 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, leading the Brooklyn Nets back from 21 points down to a 110-98 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night that strengthened their chances of the best spot possible next week in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant loves being part of New York's basketball rivalry, even finds it funny when he hears from the opposing fans.
He should enjoy it. When it comes to the Knicks, Durant always gets the last word.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 42 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Houston Rockets 118-105 on Tuesday night to improve their position in the race for play-in seeding.
Irving had 17 points in the fourth quarter to help the Nets pull away again after their 21-point lead dwindled to six.
ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young scored 36 points, including nine in the final minute, and the streaking Atlanta Hawks overcame Kevin Durant’s career-high 55 points to hold off the Brooklyn Nets 122-115 on Saturday night for their fifth consecutive win.
ATLANTA (AP) — Kevin Durant earned a new scoring record, though it was Danilo Gallinari and the Atlanta Hawks who celebrated with a postgame toast.
Trae Young scored 36 points, including nine in the final minute, and the streaking Hawks overcame Durant's career-high 55 points to hold off the Brooklyn Nets 122-115 on Saturday night for their fifth consecutive win.
NEW YORK (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become Milwaukee’s career scoring leader on a 3-pointer that forced overtime, and then made two free throws in the final seconds to give the Bucks a 120-119 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo loved the fact that he became Milwaukee's career scoring leader on a 3-pointer, so nobody can say he's just a dunker anymore.
Otherwise, there was no reason for celebrating after passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 41 points and the Brooklyn Nets rallied past the Detroit Pistons 130-123 on Tuesday night.
Durant connected on 14 of 23 shots, 4 of 6 from 3-point range and all nine of his foul shots while adding 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks to help the Nets overcome a double-digit deficit in the second quarter.
MIAMI (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Seth Curry added 17 and the Brooklyn Nets overwhelmed Miami 110-95 on Saturday night, sending the Heat to their season-worst fourth consecutive loss.
Andre Drummond had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Brooklyn, which got 11 points from Kyrie Irving — who will play his first home game of the season for the Nets on Sunday — and 10 from Nic Claxton.
MIAMI (AP) — Goran Dragic looked up at the overhead screen and watched the video that paid tribute to his seven seasons with the Miami Heat, then waved to acknowledge the loud cheers from his former home crowd.
MIAMI (AP) — Kyrie Irving is finally going to play a home game for Brooklyn again on Sunday. And he apparently intends to play home games with the Nets for years to come.
Irving, speaking to reporters Saturday following Brooklyn’s game-day shootaround practice in Miami, said he feels comfortable being a member of the Nets and that he wants to remain teammates with Kevin Durant.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving can play home games now, so the Brooklyn Nets might be good enough to win the NBA championship.
Or they might be flawed enough to miss the playoffs entirely.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Desmond Bane scored 23 points, including nine straight as Memphis rebuilt its lead in the fourth quarter, and the Grizzlies beat Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets 132-120 on Wednesday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Already without Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, the Brooklyn Nets were down another starter to illness and lost one to injury.
They still had Kevin Durant, and that was enough against Utah.
PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 28 points and the Phoenix Suns moved closer to wrapping up the NBA’s best regular-season record, routing the Chicago Bulls 129-102 on Friday night.
At a franchise-best 57-14 through 71 games, the Suns moved nine-games ahead of second-place Memphis with 11 games left.
NEW YORK (AP) — Seth Curry came back and some of the burden on Kevin Durant went away.
Durant scored 38 points, Curry returned to the lineup with seven 3-pointers in his best game as a Net, and Brooklyn rallied to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-123 on Friday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Spencer Dinwiddie knows it's up to Luka Doncic whether he takes the last shot.
Doncic is the man in Dallas, so Dinwiddie said he's well within his right to decide if he's going to be the one to determine whether the Mavericks win or lose.
Orlando, Fla. (AP) — Kyrie Irving made it two nights in a row with a 60-point scorer in the NBA.
A 41-point first half hadn't been seen in almost two decades.
“It just shows you we’re on our way to history,” Irving said.