MAV-ELOUS wasted in Net loss to Dallas

nights,” Steve Nash said postgame. “I have nothing to say to him. He’s going to be Kevin Durant, he’s going to make buckets, he’s going to cause problems for the defense, and tonight was just one of those nights.”

Durant’s cold night also underscored a razor-sharp performance from Kyrie Irving, who scored 15 of the team’s last 24 points and finished with 45 points and seven made threes.

Thursday’s loss to the Mavericks tied the Nets with the Bucks in the loss column. Forget about the No. 1 seed. The Nets now fight to stay out of third place, just a half game in front of Milwaukee.

“I think pressure is good. You’re going to face pressure in the playoffs, so we have to be pressure-tested as a team that hasn’t been there together before,” Nash said. “So this is a little bit of pressure for us, a little bit of a hole to dig out of.”

Here’s one thing the Nets can clean up to be prepared for the playoffs: hit some shots. Durant wasn’t the only cold shooter on Thursday night. Landry Shamet missed all four of his attempts, Joe Harris shot just two-of-six, and the Nets outside of Irving shot just 6-of-24 from downtown.

The Nets fell behind 10 early as Luka Doncic scored 19 points in the first half.The Nets head coach responded in the second half by sending a double team at Doncic. It was successful and held him without a field goal not just throughout the third quarter, but until midway through the fourth.

The Nets have to shake their series of losses off and prepare to finish strong. They have five more games to go, with the Denver Nuggets next up, led by presumptive league MVP Nikola Jokic.