Things went according to plan for the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday as they took the opening game of their series against the Boston Celtics, 104-93. Nets head coach Steve Nash was happy with his team's performance in Game 1, but the first-year shot-caller remains wary of a never-say-die Celtics side.

Following Sunday's victory, Nash opened up about the biggest takeaway from his team's winning effort. According to the 47-year-old, the most important factor that led to the Nets' success was their defensive intensity:

“I just thought our intensity was great. The guys were locked in. The effort was there and intensity. They tried to play together and tried to execute defensively. That’s essential in the playoffs,” said Nash, via Steve Milholen of Nets Daily.

“It’s not going to be perfect, especially with a new group like ours that hasn’t had a lot of time together. You are going to make some mistakes and be left with some questions to answer, but if you have that intensity, fire, and will, that covers a lot of mistakes. That was the most important thing for us.”

The Nets did an impressive defensive job on Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who was held to 22 points on 6-of-20 shooting. Tatum is without a doubt Boston's best player on the court, so Brooklyn knows that they will need to put in a concerted effort in trying to prevent the All-Star forward from another offensive explosion.

Brooklyn has no problem with their offense. After all, they have three of the most potent offensive threats in the league on their squad. As they always say, however, it's defense that wins championships.