Jayson Tatum scored on the buzzer to give the Boston Celtics a 115-114 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in their opening NBA play-off game.
Tatum scored 31 points as the Eastern Conference second seeds held off a fourth-quarter comeback by the Nets.
The Celtics lead 1-0 in the best-of-seven first-round series.
Kyrie Irving, who hit 39 points for the Nets against his former team, raised his middle finger to the Boston crowd during the third quarter.
Following his acrimonious departure from the Celtics in 2019, Irving has had a tense relationship with their fans, who booed him throughout the game.
Irving, 30, defended his response to the Celtic fans, adding: “I’m used to all these antics.
“It’s nothing new when I come into this building [in terms of] what it’s going to be like – but it’s the same energy they have for me, I’m going to have the same energy for them.
“It’s not about the fans – the fans aren’t playing.”
There were opening wins too for defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of three nominees for this season’s NBA Most Valuable Player award, led the Bucks as they beat the Chicago Bulls 93-86.
The Heat, who are Eastern Conference top seeds, dominated the Atlanta Hawks 115-91 and the Suns, the Western Conference top seeds, defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 110-99.
In Boston, the hosts trailed the Nets 114-111 with 45.9secs left thanks to a three-pointer by Irving.
But a Jaylen Brown layup cut the lead and after Kevin Durant missed a three-pointer, Tatum took a Marcus Smart pass to get the match-winning score.
“When he took that dribble, we just kind of made eye contact and he made a great pass and I just had to make a layup,” Tatum said.
In Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Bucks to victory, although foul trouble kept him on the bench for much of the fourth quarter.
Centre Nikola Vucevic led the Bulls with 24 points and 17 rebounds.
Miami Heat reserve Duncan Robinson scored a career play-off high of 27 points as his side put in a strong defensive display.
Robinson hit eight out of nine three-pointers while Jimmy Butler added 21 points and PJ Tucker notched 16 as the Hawks and star guard Trae Young struggled.
And veteran point guard Chris Paul scored 19 of his 30 points in the second half as the Suns, who finished the regular season with the best record in the league, led from start to finish against the Pelicans.
