Bruised B’klyn hangs on late
Here we go again.
The Nets built a 17-point fourth quarter lead over the Celtics on Friday night, and it should have been smooth sailing from there on out. Sloppy play coupled with streak-shooting from Boston, however turned this one into a dogfight down the stretch.
The Nets narrowly escaped, 109-104.
“I think we turned them over quite a bit tonight. They had 19 turnovers, so that got our break going. But we want to run. We want to push the ball, so that’s a good sign,” Nets head coach Steve Nash said postgame. “A lot of activity defensively. We made our fair shar of mistakes, but we made up for it with activity and got a lot of hands on balls and deflections and things like that and that started our break.”
Both teams were short-handed. For the Nets, the injured list could stretch around Barclays Center’s perimeter. Kevin Durant (thigh contusion) and James Harden (hamstring) continue to miss time, as do a variety of Nets role players, including Tyler Johnson, Nic Claxton and Alize Johnson.
The Celtics were without starting point guard Kemba Walker, All-Star wing Jaylen Brown and starting center Robert Williams, making a leveled playing field between Eastern Conference rivals.
That whittled it down to the stars available: Kyrie Irving had a poor shooting night with just 13 points on 4-of-19 shooting from the field. It was just his fifth game of the season without a three made, as he missed all six of his attempts.
Where Irving failed to score, he took opportunities away from his opponent. The All-Star guard recorded five steals, his most in a game since recording eight as a member of the Celtics in 2019.
“Kai had some steals, assists. It was not his typical scoring night, but it’s few and far between when he doesn’t score the ball at a prolific rate,” Nash said. “But he definitely disrupted the basketball game defensively, and overall, he draws a lot of attention. I thought he was great in a lot of different ways than we’re accustomed to and I thought his teammates really picked him up as well.
“When he’s engaged at that end of the floor, he has energy and he can be excellent defensively.”
Tatum was the best player on the floor: Impossible to stop one-on-one and smart enough to dissect the different looks thrown at him by the Nets defense. He scored a game-high 38 points on 14-of-27 shooting.
After the Celtics took the first quarter, 25-21, the Nets created some separation by hanging a 39-point second period on their opponent.
That was the quarter the newest Net, Mike James came alive. His play may have put an end to Chris Chiozza’s minutes, should Chiozza return from a broken hand in enough time to help.
James, on a fresh 10-day contract, played 21 minutes and put up eight points and two assists. His night included a leaning corner three, a high arcing floater off the glass, and a reverse layup, each of which got Irving off his seat in support.
“I am a natural point guard, so I’ve played point guard pretty much all my life,” James said. “Trying to learn plays and trying to move the ball and move at a faster pace and just trying to feel somewhat comfortable in the situation where its kind of uncomfortable, where you just haven’t had any practices and haven’t had any game time, so you just have to kinda fill in.”
Blake Griffin and Bruce Brown combined for 28 points, 13 rebounds and four assists off the bench. Griffin took a pair of charges on back-toback possessions to give the Nets juice in the second half. Joe Harris led the team with 20 points on 4-of-7 shooting from downtown.
Knicks GM Leon Rose should send a thank you letter, or a bouquet of roses, to the Nets for taking care of business on Friday night. The Celtics’ loss keeps the Knicks in sole possession of the No. 4 seed, while the Nets retain the top status in the East.