Thunderstruck
Ky struggles as KD-less Nets falter in 4th quarter
The Nets’ challenge of holding the fort without Kevin Durant became even more challenging on Sunday when Ben Simmons joined him in the trainer’s room as a late scratch.
But it all came crumbling down with another brutal fourth quarter.
The Nets led by 10 points late in the third quarter but for the second straight game ran out of gas in the fourth as they fell to the Thunder, 112-102, at Barclays Center.
Without Durant and Simmons, the spotlight turned squarely on Kyrie Irving to shoulder the load. But the Nets star had an off night, finishing with 15 points on 7-for-20 shooting, including 1 of 7 from 3-point land, to go with six rebounds and six assists.
The Nets (27-15) fell to 0-2 since Durant sprained his MCL — after going 5-16 without him last season, including an 11-game losing streak — with the back-to-back losses their first such set since Nov. 13-15.
“It was all glory, glory last week when we were winning games every game,” Irving said. “And now we’re answering questions about potentially struggling. I don’t think we are going to struggle without Kevin now. That’s not my belief. I know guys in the locker room don’t believe that.
“This isn’t last year at all. So the comparisons have got to stop. I’ll leave it up to [the media] to do that. For us, we don’t have any comparison to last year. We just want to control our focus level and how we prepare.”
Seth Curry led the Nets with 23 points off the bench, but it was not enough to hold off the Thunder (21-23), who got 28 points apiece from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. Luguentz Dort added 22.
The Nets brought a five-point lead into the fourth quarter but quickly saw it wiped away in less than two minutes.
The Thunder then led, 87-76, when they went on a wild 3-point frenzy, connecting from downtown on four of five possessions — with the Nets answering them twice — to take a 99-92 lead with 6:12 left in regulation.
From there, the Nets had their chances to close the gap, but went cold from beyond the arc as the Thunder pushed their lead into double digits for the first time all night at 105-94 with 3:04 to go. The Nets were getting solid looks but shot just 2 of 13 from deep in the fourth quarter.
“I think we got good looks,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “We just needed them to go.”
The Thunder also got to the foul line 24 times in the second half after taking just two free throws in the first half.
After leading by two points at the half, the Nets began to create some separation in the third quarter, with Irving leading the charge. He scored on back-toback possessions and then found Yuta Watanabe on the fast break as the Nets took a 69-62 lead.
Then, following four straight points by Gilgeous-Alexander, the Nets went on a 9-2 run that gave them a double-digit lead for the first time all night at 78-68 with 2:34 left in the third quarter.
But once the fourth quarter rolled around, Durant’s absence again loomed larger. They no longer have one of the NBA’s best players to lean on in crunch time, and for the second straight game, their lead disappeared late without him.
“I think that’s the challenge for us as a group to be able to sustain,” Vaughn said. “That is harder, mentally and physically, because Kevin does save you at times and give you a bucket and so now your defense is set. That’s the challenge for this group is they have to dig in and have a mental fortitude greater than before.”
ORCHARD PARK — Josh Allen shrugged off a threeturnover outing by throwing two touchdown passes 3:11 apart in the third quarter, and rallying the Bills to a 34-31 win over the injury-depleted Dolphins in an AFC wildcard matchup on Sunday.
Cole Beasley scored the goahead touchdown with a 6-yard catch, and Gabe Davis extended the lead to 34-24 with a 23-yard TD reception in a game where Buffalo squandered an early 17-0 lead.
“Doesn’t matter how we win, it’s if we win, and I’m proud of our guys for playing the way they did,” Allen said.
The Bills defense, which forced six punts and two turnovers, then held on to secure the win when Miami turned the ball over on downs on its final possession.
Rookie Skylar Thompson’s pass on fourth-and-6 went just off the fingertips of tight end Mike Gesicki with 2:22 remaining.
Buffalo was able to run out the clock when Devin Singletary bulled his way for a 7-yard gain to convert a thirdand-7.
It was a sloppy game played between two division rivals, and the outcome fitting after Miami and Buffalo split their regular-season series in games decided by a combined five points. The Dolphins beat Buffalo 21-19 at Miami in September, with the Bills rallying to beat Miami 32-29 last month.
Allen finished 23 of 39 for 352 yards and three TDs, but also threw two interceptions, which resulted in the Dolphins scoring 10 points. He also lost a fumble while being sacked by Eric Rowe, with Zach Sieler recovering the ball and returning it 5 yards for a touchdown to put Mi
ami ahead 24-20, just 61 seconds into the third quarter.
“It’s a one-week season, that’s it,” Allen said. “All that matters is surviving and advancing.”
As the AFC’s second seed, Buffalo advances to host either the third-seeded Bengals or fourth-seeded Jaguars in the divisional round. That matchup was to be determined after the Bengals hosted Baltimore on Sunday night.
A potential Bills-Bengals matchup would come three weeks after their game was canceled when Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field.
The Dolphins played tough in a game they entered as 13.5-point underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. They were down numerous starters and trailed 17-0 with 12:46 left in the second quarter when Tyler Bass hit a 33yard field goal.
The Dolphins defense and special teams made up for an offense that was down to its third-string quarterback in Thompson. Miami rallied to tie the game by taking advantage of two interceptions and Cedric Wilson’s 50-yard punt return.
Thompson, a seventhround pick out of Kansas State, finished 18 of 45 for 220 yards with a touchdown pass to Gesicki, and two interceptions. He was making his third career start in place of Tua Tagovailoa, who is still in the concussion protocol and with backup Teddy Bridgewater dealing with a dislocated pinky finger.
The Dolphins were also missing running back Raheem Mostert (broken thumb), and featured a patchwork offensive line missing starting left guard Liam Eichenberg (hand) and starting right tackle Brandon Shell (knee/ankle). Starting left tackle Terron Armstead, meantime, played despite missing two of three practices because of injuries to his toe, pectoral muscle, knee and hip.
Thompson took the blame saying, “I feel like our operation in general was troubled at times, and I take full responsibility for that.”