The game was over, and the crowd at Barclays Center was chanting “M-V-P.” The fans wore N.B.A. jerseys in all of the team’s colors, and their star raised his arms to acknowledge their praise.
But Kyrie Irving was already headed to the locker room. So, too, was Kevin Durant. Ben Simmons wasn’t even in the building. This was not a celebration for the Nets, who play their home games here. It was for the Boston Celtics, for their star Jayson Tatum and for the team that had just accomplished a once-unthinkable feat: a four-game sweep of the Nets in the first round of the playoffs.