The Brooklyn Nets spent the season thriving through adversity and that resilience reappeared in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals as they broke away from the Milwaukee Bucks in the second half for a 115-107 Game 1 win.
Head coach Steve Nash said before the game that the Nets hadn’t really been “punched in the mouth” in their five-game first-round win over the Boston Celtics and that test came in opening minute against the Bucks — probably not in the way Nash was thinking about — when the Nets lost James Harden for the night with a hamstring injury.
They weathered it from every corner of the roster. They got 45 minutes from Kyrie Irving and 30 from Mike James, who had played a total of nine minutes against the Celtics. Blake Griffin had his second double-double of the season and it might have been a triple-double if you counted the floor burns. Assists came from everywhere.
“Guys have faced a lot of scenarios like this all season,” said Nash. “In that respect we weren’t afraid. We didn’t hang our heads. And I was really impressed with our perseverance. It could have been an emotional toll on us. To get out of the first round and to prepare for a few days for the series and have our lead playmaker go down in the first minute, that could derail a team. Our guys went through this and they hung in there and their toughness was on display.”
Down seven in the first quarter, the Nets flipped that into an 11-point second quarter lead and led by two at halftime. They broke out to a 16-point lead in the final minute of third quarter after Kevin Durant scored seven straight points to wrap up a 12-2 run and led by as many as 19 in the fourth quarter.
"We try not to be too emotional out there but losing one of your leaders like that first play of the game we had to regroup for a few minutes and figure out what was next, but I think the coaching staff did a great job of moving forward and guys came in and just tried to play extremely hard,” said Durant. “We didn't care about anything else but playing and executing the game plan and leaving it all out there.”
Durant and Griffin both had double-doubles, with Durant leading Brooklyn with 29 points and adding 10 rebounds. Griffin had 18 points and 14 rebounds and kept the Nets and the Barclays Center crowd charged up with his hustle play and crashes to the deck in battles for loose balls.
“When he plays like that it just ignites the whole crowd and ignites our team when he's down on the floor playing tough and big as a center,” said Durant. “And a lot of guys have moved down I guess as far as guarding bigger players in this series. So Blake is one of those guys that’s been battling all playoffs and in the first game. To play 35 minutes to grind like that, very, very promising start to this series.”
Without Harden, Irving nearly went the distance in playing 45 minutes. His 20 first-half points sparked the Nets early as they regrouped without Harden, and he finished with 25 points and a team-high eight assists.
Joe Harris made 5-of-9 3-pointers and shot 7-of-11 overall in scoring 19 points while James stepped into the Harden void with 12 points and seven rebounds in those 30 big minutes. James was one of five Nets with at least three assists.
While Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points for Milwaukee, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday combined for just 30 as the Nets held the Bucks to 6-for-30 shooting from 3-point range.
“We were solid,” said Nash. “I mean, those guys are capable. They can have big games. It’s about just the overall picture. Tonight, they missed shots, but I thought we pursued, we persevered, we didn’t relax and give them freebies. We were able to make them earn it. Tonight they didn’t go. They could go next game, but it’s about the overall team and our ability to persevere and to fight and scrap and claw and to not give them anything easy. I thought that was there from start to finish tonight.”
With Milwaukee leading 28-21 late in the first quarter, the Nets evened the game with a 9-2 run on an Irving drive followed by a Griffin 3-pointer. James scored and Durant drained a turnaround jumper out of the post to tie the game at 30 before the Bucks took a 32-30 lead into the second quarter.
The Nets opened up the second quarter making seven of their first 10 shots, with consecutive 3-pointers from Irving and James giving Brooklyn a 47-42 lead. Leading 51-48, the Nets ran off eight straight points, starting with another Durant turnaround followed by four straight from Bruce Brown — two free throws and then a paint finish — followed by an Irving drive for a 59-48 lead with 3:22 to go in the half. The Bucks outscored them 13-4 into the break from there, with Brook Lopez’s three-point play with 0.1 seconds left in the half bringing the Bucks within 63-61 at the break.
Leading 74-71, the Nets outscored the Bucks 24-13 for the remainder of the third quarter. A 9-2 run pushed the lead to 10 points, and with the Nets up 86-80, a 12-2 run followed. Irving drained a corner three in transition, then came up with a steal and dish to Landry Shamet for a fast break slam.
Durant then scored seven straight — driving into a little push shot, making two free throws, then dropping in a 3-pointer over Antetokounmpo for a 98-82 lead with 4.6 seconds left in the quarter before the Nets went into the fourth quarter leading 98-84.
With Milwaukee back within 103-93 in the fourth quarter, Durant drained a pull-up jumper, then threw down a transition dunk off Irving’s over-the-shoulder pass. James converted a reverse layup off a drive and the Nets led 109-93 with 5:54 remaining. Harris made two 3-pointers within a 90-second span and Brooklyn had a 115-96 lead with 3:40 to go.
“Anytime we lose a player somebody has to step up, but it was collective,” said Griffin. “We said that in the huddle, 'we'll be alright, we've got to step up everybody.' So I had a feeling coming into this series, little different than last series. Different defensive schemes and a little bit more opportunity. Obviously a bigger team so playing a little bit more minutes so everybody puts in the work every single day, everybody stays ready, everybody that played tonight had a pretty big impact so I'm proud of everybody.”
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Nets 115, Bucks 107: Brooklyn Breaks Away in Second Half of Series Opener - Brooklynnets.com
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