‘TOUGH’ ROAD AHEAD
NETS MUST FIND WAY TO BATTLE CELTICS’ MUSCLE
BOSTON — The Nets weren’t physical enough Friday against the Celtics. They were not gritty enough or aggressive enough in getting roughed up at TD Garden in Game 3 of this first-round playoff series.
They know it’s only going to get tougher in Game 4 on Sunday. And they’ll have to get tougher, too.
“We have to play better as a unit, and we will [in] Game 4,” James Harden said. “This thing isn’t going to get easier for us. It’s going to be difficult. We expect that. Next game, it’s going to be a lot more fans, so we’ve got to take upon the challenge.
“So, learning experience for us. We’ll take [Game 3] on the chin and get better and ready to go for Sunday.”
They had better be. They took it on the chin, in the face and everywhere else in a 125-119 loss.
The Nets got outrebounded 46-37, and Tristan Thompson bludgeoned them for nine offensive boards — one fewer than they had as a team.
“We’re the guys that like to get nasty,” Thompson said. “We’re the bulldogs.”
The TD Garden crowd was electric at just one-quarter capacity (4,789). Massachusetts limits loosened on Saturday, so for Game 4 the arena will be at near-full capacity.
“We had too many breakdowns that were simple, just lacked discipline in different scenarios and maybe just didn’t make enough of that second effort, that kind of frenetic energy we had in Games 1 and 2,” Nets coach Steve Nash said.
“It’s been a message for us all along. We won in many ways the first two games because of our physicality. … [Friday] it took a step back. Second effort, discipline, I don’t care if there’s 100,000 people in there, if you make the second efforts and play with more discipline we can limit the things that really hurt us in Game 3.”
After the Nets won the first two games at Barclays Center, the Celtics were desperate coming back home. The Nets shouldn’t have been caught surprised by Boston’s physicality, but they clearly were.
“They played with a little more physicality, played with a little more energy, and we should expect that with them being at home,” Blake Griffin said. “I thought they were more physical, that it was a point that they wanted to make: Coming home,
fighting, getting the 50-50 balls. … We just didn’t match that intensity.
“The things we talked about, the things we go over before the game in our preparation, those are ‘must do’ things. You can’t come out and get outworked, you can’t get beat on the offensive glass. That’s on me. And it can be a good thing for us — depending on how we respond to this.”
Griffin had just four points on 1-for-5 shooting and committed five fouls. Yet he was likely more effective than spindly Nic Claxton, who finished a minus-21 and got moved around by the burlier Thompson. Claxton and Landry Shamet must play better, while defensive guard Bruce Brown (14 minutes) may have to play more.
“Those [young] guys are capable. They’ve done it. They can do it again. It’s just trying to up our energy for the next game,” Nash said. “There’s no magic pill. You go out and play hard and compete, you battle adversity and good things happen.”
It’s unclear if Nash will put veteran DeAndre
Jordan back in the rotation, but the Nets clearly weren’t physical enough to take the Celtics out of their offense. After holding Jayson Tatum to 28.1 percent shooting through the first two games, they let him gouge them in the 1-4-1 pickand-roll en route to 50 points Friday.
Even considering the absence of Jeff Green, who is out with a strained plantar fascia, that’s inexcusable.
“Those are both huge focal points for us. We just talked about being the more assertive, physical team,” Joe Harris said. “[Friday] you probably say Boston was a little more [physical] than us. Tristan obviously is a difficult cover in terms of the pressure he puts on the offensive glass. We’ve got to do a better job of getting guys cracking back on him, limiting him and his second-chance opportunities.
“Tatum’s an incredible player, but you’ve got to do everything you can to make it tough on him. Huge game, 50 points. That’s unacceptable.”
Throwing the first punch was a priority for Boston.
“That was our main goal and most important thing going into Game 3: Be the most physical team and set the tone,” Romeo Langford said. “I feel like we did that.”
It’s a lesson the Nets need to learn for Game 4.