Here are my three thoughts on the Nets’ 120-95 loss to the Thunder in Brooklyn Friday night:
1. One of the many cool things about this job is getting a chance to see rare and special moments from up close. The Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett tributes Sunday in Boston are one example. Another is the way Kevin Durant completely destroyed the Nets Friday night.
Yes, Durant “only” had 26 points, after Thunder coach Scott Brooks called off the dogs late in the third quarter and sat Durant for the final 14 or so minutes. The superstar forward went 10-for-12 from the field in 30 minutes, snapping his string of consecutive games with 30 or more points at 12.
But it was the way Durant so effortlessly swept aside the Nets that was breathtaking to see. No, the Nets aren’t a legitimate title contender – especially not after losing Brook Lopez for the year – but they’ve played much better in recent weeks, and had entered Friday’s game with wins in 10 of their previous 12 contests.
The Thunder, though, made the Nets look like they’d been transported back to the dark days of mid-December, knocking down shot after shot while confounding the Nets into making terrible passes and keeping them off the glass almost entirely.
The credit for that begins and ends with Durant, who has put this team on his back with Russell Westbrook out and carried Oklahoma City to a 10-game winning streak. Shaun Livingston actually did a good job defending Durant – repeatedly getting a hand in his face to bother shots – and it just didn’t matter.
That’s the kind of zone he’s in right now, and it was a special thing to watch continue Friday night in Brooklyn.
2. There was a lot of talk after the game – and some disbelief – about the Nets being outrebounded 41-17, setting an NBA record for fewest rebounds in a game. But this was more about the way the Thunder were playing – and in particular how they were shooting – than anything the Nets were or weren’t doing on the glass.
When you only miss 28 shots, there aren’t going to be a lot of chances for your opponent to grab rebounds. And when you get 10 offensive boards – as the Thunder did – that means there will be even fewer.
That being said, this was an example of the downside of playing with a small lineup, as it was when the Nets struggled to contain Amir Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas and Patrick Patterson in Monday’s last-second loss to the Raptors. They face another struggle to do so Saturday night in Indianapolis against the bulky Pacers.
By going small, the Nets have gained a lot of advantages, including increased mobility on the perimeter and more 3-point shooting. But it’s going to hurt their rebounding, and the Nets have learned that the hard way the last couple of games.
3. Kevin Garnett said something quite interesting at the end of his interview: “We need everybody here. Everybody’s playing through something, everybody’s playing through injury. It’s about the fight that’s in everybody here. If it’s 1-on-1, we’re not that good. But when we’re full throttle, we’ve got a lot of guys who have fight.
“We have to be more consistent with the fight.”
The Nets won 10 of their first 11 games in January, and went 10-3 overall, as they finally had a stretch of relatively good health. Only Deron Williams had missed time in January until Andrei Kirilenko’s calf issues cropped up this week. Now Andray Blatche could also miss Saturday’s game after bruising his hip against the Thunder.
With Brook Lopez out for the season, the Nets have fallen into something that works these past few weeks. But, as Garnett correctly said, they need everyone healthy to pull it off.