Durant takes over, snaps Nuggets’ winning streak
The Nuggets’ extended road trip finally caught up to them on Tuesday night in Brooklyn.
And Kevin Durant held the dagger. Brooklyn’s devastating three- level scorer led a fourth- quarter surge as the Nets knocked off the Nuggets, 122- 116, at Barclay’s Center. The loss dropped the Nuggets to 5- 6 on the year and ruined their chance at their first three- game winning streak of the season.
The loss extended a grueling stretch of seven games in 12 days. Denver will host Golden State on Thursday.
Durant, whose demoralizing 3- pointer with : 27 seconds left gave the Nets a sevenpoint lead, finished with 34 points and 13 assists. His star was evident even without sidekick Kyrie Irving, who missed the game due to personal reasons.
“The wrong mindset,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of his team’s second half defense. “We’ve had a little bit of success lately because we’ve defended at a high level. In that second half, they scored 68 points. They shot 69 percent. They made 11 3s. And we had eight turnovers.”
The loss wasted Nikola Jokic’s incredible night, which featured a career- high seven steals. Jokic poured in 23 points, dished 11 assists and snagged eight rebounds, but his support wasn’t there. A quiet night from Jamal Murray meant Will Barton played second fiddle. Barton scored nine of his 22 in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t do anything to slow Durant, who scored 20 in the second half. Murray finished with 20 points on 20 shots in 35 minutes.
Through 10 games, the Nuggets haven’t proven trustworthy with any lead. On Tuesday, they held a 79- 61 advantage early in the third quarter. Durant and sharpshooter Joe Harris shredded that cushion from the 3- point line. Together, coupled with Denver’s stale offense, the Nets reeled off a 29- 4 run that stunned the Nuggets’ starters.
“They were scoring easy,” Jokic said. “… We were nowhere.”
It wasn’t until the bench unit returned, directed on offense by Monte Morris and on defense by Isaiah Hartenstein, that the Nuggets restored some order. Morris’ improbable 3- pointer at the buzzer tied it at 90 heading into the fourth.
“They had more sense of urgency to really get more stops, and they got out and ran,” Morris said. “They turned us over.”
Gary Harris’ defensive tenacity was sorely missed as the Nets rained in jumpers. Harris missed the game for personal reasons and nothing COVID- related, according to a league source.
In his absence, rookie Bol Bol got his first- ever start. And rather than play like a wide- eyed rookie, especially against Durant, Bol had several convincing moments, including a 3- pointer and a backtothe- basket post- up.
In the wake of numerous postponements and dozens of players entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the league announced on Tuesday several modifications that should reinforce the rules. Though no stoppage seemed imminent, the refined tweaks included wearing masks at all times, limiting postgame interactions between players and restricting non- team guests at road hotels.
“It’s not surprising that the NBA and NBPA came out with that today. We are in the middle of obviously a lot of games being postponed, players being out due to COVID protocols,” Malone said. “Before we go ahead and stop the season or pause the season, let’s see if we can try to be a little bit more disciplined and get greater commitment to those protocols because none of us want to see the season stopped.”
Due to the protocols, Malone wasn’t allowed to see his parents on the current road trip.
“Does it ( stink)? No doubt,” he said. “But is it what’s best for the group and the league? Yes it is. I think everybody’s gotta be committed to that and stop thinking about themselves and think about the collective good of their teams and the entire NBA.”
Though Murray’s been slowed recently, perhaps by nagging injuries, new Nets coach and fellow Canadian Steve Nash couldn’t help but show his pride.
“Jamal’s been incredible,” Nash said before the game. “I’ve known Jamal since he was 17, 18 years old, and you knew then that he was special. But you have to go out and prove it. It’s no surprise to me that this is the player we see today.”
It’s rare that Denver’s potent offense and their unpredictable defense show up in tandem, but it happened Tuesday night. The Nuggets blitzed the Nets, building a 70- 54 lead going into halftime.
Jokic was dominant, again. His 15- point, seven- assist, five- rebound, four- steal half picked up the slack as Murray’s struggles continued. He orchestrated the offense, relying on stalwarts Barton and Paul Millsap for supplementary support.
As the offense cooked to the tune of 10 first- half 3- pointers, Denver’s defense swarmed the passing lanes and gambled when it could. The Nuggets scored 14 points off Brooklyn’s 11 first- half turnovers. The only flaw of an otherwise superb half came inside, where the Nets managed 30 points in the paint over the first two quarters.