GOLDEN NO MORE
Nets take easy one against once-mighty Warriors
At the very least, the Nets can beat lottery-bound teams.
They didn’t need Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant to make quick work of the league-worst Warriors on Wednesday. It was a game the Nets controlled from the outset, cruising to a 129-88 win over a depleted Golden State team.
The Nets hung 40 points on the Warriors in an opening period, when they shot 7-of-13 from downtown. They only made six more for the rest of the night, but shot 51% from the field and 41% from three in a game that was decided well before the final buzzer. It’s hard to lose when you don’t miss shots.
The Nets slowly chipped away at a Warriors team that did not have the firepower to beat them. It was the largest margin of victory of the season for the Nets, who led by as much as 44 points.
The Warriors, though, were playing under odd circumstances, having two players — Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson, III — arrive at Barclays Center only to be held out of the game with the Thursday’s trade deadline looming.
“We found out prior to the game,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “There’s not really a good way to prepare for a game when something like that happens, and I think it showed.
“We were definitely affected by the circumstances, and I think we took it on the chin.”
The Nets also welcomed back D’Angelo Russell, the point guard they traded over the summer to usher in the Irving and Durant era. The organization orchestrated a video tribute inbetween the first and second quarters, and Barclays Center fans cheered the former All-Star as if he still wore black and white.
But Russell did not react when the camera panned to him after the tribute, nor did he have an All-Star caliber outing in his first game back in Brooklyn. He scored 17 points but shot only 7-of-20 on the night. The Nets outscored the Warriors by 48 in the 33 minutes Russell was on the floor.
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson admitted coaching Russell for two years gave him an advantage in knowing how to slow him down.
“Obviously we made a concerted effort to limit his touches,” he said. “Heck of a player. Glad we slowed him down a little, but definitely an advantage when you know a guy.
It’s hard to grade a win against a team that’s barely a team. The Warriors have not had Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson for the majority of the season. Draymond Green played 21 minutes and had minimal impact on the game with only five points and two assists. Many of the remaining active players on the Warriors roster are unlikely to be on the team next season.
“Obviously we knew taking D-Lo, try to bring his percentages down, that was the game plan — first part of the game plan,” Atkinson said. “And limiting Draymond’s effect on the game with his passing. And mission accomplished.”
That’s why it was light work for Caris LeVert, who scored 23 points and dished out a season-high eight assists. Joe Harris had target practice and shot two-of-four from downtown. Garrett Temple and DeAndre Jordan scored 26 off the bench. Spencer Dinwiddie’s presence was barely needed.
The Nets can enjoy this win and a day off, as they advanced to 5-2 in their seven-game stretch against teams outside the playoff picture. They’ll have to come back to reality on Saturday, when they begin a four-game stretch against teams they could meet in the playoffs.
The Nets went 0-5 against playoffcaliber teams in a late-January stretch and will see the Pacers, Sixers and Raptors, twice, in the next week.
“We knew this was an important stretch. I keep saying we need to get money back from previous missteps,” Atkinson said. “The challenge now is the Torontos and the Indianas of the world. Where are we against those elite teams?”