can make everyone proud.Srabanis enthusiasm is matched by the girls that make up Indias hockey team. On a pilgrimage of their own having made the cut for the first time since 1980, this is a group bubbling with excitable energy. They start against Japan on August 7 before taking on Great Britain, Aus

BOSTON -- With 2:31 left to play, Brooklyns Trevor Booker made a layup to cut the Celtics lead to 10 points and Boston coach Brad Stevens pointed at his resting starters and told them to get back on the floor.The Nets had erased most of a 23-point deficit against the Boston backups, and they would make it an eight-point game before Stevens got his first team back in.Its a reminder of how quickly things can turn in this league, Stevens said after his starters preserved a 122-117 victory in the season opener on Wednesday night. I probably will be less likely to leave them in that long if were in a similar scenario. Hopefully we learn from it, and were not.Isaiah Thomas had 25 points and nine assists, Jae Crowder added 21 points and Al Horford pitched in 11 in his Boston debut for the Celtics.Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 for Brooklyn, including a 3-pointer to make it 120-117 with 47 seconds left. But he missed another 3 with a chance to tie it after Joe Harris intercepted Thomas cross-court pass, and the Celtics were able to hold on.Justin Hamilton came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points and grab 10 rebounds for the Nets.Very pleased that we didnt give up and we kept on fighting, coach Kenny Atkinson said after his debut.The Celtics led 112-89 with 8 minutes to play, and they led by 19 with 5:28 left when Avery Bradley went to the bench to join the rest of the first teamers, who started the quarter there. Brooklyn scored 11 straight points before Stevens decided hed seen enough.Thomas, Crowder, Horford, Bradley and Amir Johnson re-entered the game with an eight-point lead and 2:07 left and did just enough to protect it. Bradley had nine rebounds, the biggest after Hamiltons missed 3-point shot with 15 seconds left on another attempt to tie it.Hamilton gave the credit to the Nets bench for closing the gap.They came in with the energy that we needed to have the whole game, he said.MONEY WELL SPENTHorford added five rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who signed him during the NBAs offseason spending spree to a four-year, $113 million deal.The Celtics are hoping he will help lead them to an Atlantic Division title this season, one year after they finished eight games behind Toronto with the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.Hes the same the same old Al, Atkinson said, doing the stuff and hitting the big shots.NEWCOMERSCeltics No. 3 overall draft pick Jaylen Brown was pleased to hear that he didnt seem to have any nerves in his NBA debut. Brown scored nine points on 3-for-4 shooting, and he added two blocked shots in 19-plus minutes.How nervous was he?On a scale of 1-10, I was a seven or eight, he said with a smile. You want to have a lot of energy, and its hard to suppress your energy.FIRING AWAYThe Nets shot 44 3-point attempts, making 15. Atkinson said he wanted them to shoot more this season, but that number may be a little more than he planned.Yeah, 44 is a lot, but well look at them, he said. We said we want to take them, but they have to be open 3s.TIP-INSNets: Earlier in the day, Jeremy Lin donated $1 million to Harvard, where he graduated in 2010. The money will be used for undergraduate financial aid and to help renovate the schools basketball arena.Celtics: Injured guard Marcus Smart gave the traditional season-opening thanks to the crowd for the Celtics.UP NEXTNets: Thursday host Indiana. The Nets open their fifth season in Brooklyn.Celtics: Thursday visit Chicago. 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It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start.Apurvi Chandela doesnt say much. She is a little pint of a girl, with a ready smile and a generally warm disposition. She hung around at the official welcoming ceremony for the Indian contingent at the athletes village in Rio on Tuesday with with a slightly detached visage. She took photographs in the musical acts, she stood erect as the national anthem played, she posed politely for some pictures. But she didnt want to talk shooting. So probing journalists were politely rebuffed with a Well talk about shooting after my event.Who can blame her? It is four days away, this moment she has prepared for diligently for the better part of her adult life. Shes won big medals before but this is really the biggest deal of all. She is trying not to be consumed by its quest but you can tell, Apurvi cant help but be. So while a celebratory air engulfs her fellow athletes in the Indian contingent as they collect at Rio, Apurvi is an island of distant calm. Unlike some of her colleagues, there is no time to soak in the nice weather, the warm people or any of the sights and sounds at her debut Olympics. The opening ceremony will have barely wrapped up before Apurvi will make her way to the shooting range, ready to take aim in the 10m Air Rifle.Apurvis poised intensity is in sharp contrast with the ebullience of other first timers in the contingent. Perhaps unburdened by the expectations of a medal finish, sprinter Srabani Nanda is chirpy and up for a chat. The 25-year old is Indias premier 200m runner and at her first Olympics, has limited aspirations. Beating her own national mark of 22.82 seconds is an agenda item and spurred on by the quality of competition she will face, Srabani expects to get it done. She runs in the heats of her event on August 15, Indias independence day, and too get herself in the spirit of things, Srabani has painted her nails in the colours of the tri-colour.dddddddddddd There is an almost uncontrollable giggle in her voice as she looks around and finds herself rubbing shoulders with the elite of her sport.To qualify for the Olympics was a dream, I hadnt managed last time in London because of some problems, she says. Getting here is the result of a lot of hard work, from my entire team. I am now hopeful of receiving even more support so I can make everyone proud.Srabanis enthusiasm is matched by the girls that make up Indias hockey team. On a pilgrimage of their own having made the cut for the first time since 1980, this is a group bubbling with excitable energy. They start against Japan on August 7 before taking on Great Britain, Australia, USA and Argentina in their remaining group fixtures. As the lowest ranked team in their group, the girls will need to construct a sparkling run to make quarterfinals. But having come so far, there is an infectious belief that their journey can be extended.These girls deserve their moment, says the teams assistant coach C R Kumar. Ranking is important but it really is about the team performing on that given day. Our first game against Japan is the most important one for us. If we start well, that will make the rest of the campaign easier as there will be lesser burden to carry.Indias plucky new generation of athletes is primed for the the task at hand. Some might embrace the surround sound of a mega event such as the Olympics with greater gusto than others, but none need reminding this a special time in their lives. The glint in each of their eyes says it all. ' ' '