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The Brooklyn Nets traveled to the Bay Area on Saturday night for a prime-time game with the Golden State Warriors, in what has been billed as the return of Kevin Durant. He pulled it off in style, scoring 20 points, five rebounds and six assists to help the Nets to an easy win, 134-117.
There really wasn’t too much drama in this one, as the Nets took the lead late in the first quarter and are never left behind again. They led in double digits for the entire second half, and at one point they increased by 28 before hitting the road the rest of the time.
Durant’s intense night was matched by his star teammates. Kyrie Irving had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, while James Harden scored one point and finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and 16 assists. As usual, the Nets dominated the attacking side, shooting 53.8% from the field and knocking down 16 3 points.
For the Warriors, Stephen Curry had 27 points and five assists in another strong game, but they just didn’t have enough firepower to keep up with the Nets. And really, the fact that they were statistically as successful offensive as they were was because Brooklyn was on autopilot in the fourth quarter.
Here are some key points of the Nets impressive victory:
Harden the facilitator
James Harden scores so much that passing will never be the first thing anyone mentions when he talks about it, but he’s really great in this department. And since arriving in Brooklyn, he has made it his duty to facilitate and involve others.
Heading into Saturday night, he was averaging 11.3 assists per game with the Nets, which would be a career high if he maintained that pace throughout the season. He upped that average against the Warriors by losing 16 assists – his most to date in a Nets uniform.
They weren’t just superficial swing passes to an open shooter. He won his numbers with some really brilliant discoveries. That behind-the-back to Bruce Brown was particularly smooth.
Irving puts on a show
Quantifying something like “hard shot maker” is difficult as it is largely based on aesthetics and personal preference, but even all of this subjectivity cannot deprive Kyrie Irving of her rightful place among the best in the league. Honestly, sometimes it seems like he’s deliberately making the shots harder than they should be.
Even for him, Saturday night was special. Zigzag discs towards the basket, inverted layers turned in the glass, a 3 second recoil, Irving had it all worked out in this one. He showed all the skills that made him one of the top scorers of his generation. Like, what are you supposed to do about it?
Where?
Durant returns to the bay
The most important and obvious pre-game story was Durant returning to the Bay Area. With his injury and the pandemic, it had been two years since he played at Golden State. That absence ended on Saturday night, but sadly the fanless environment made it a lot less memorable than it should have been.
Still, the Warriors did their best to make things as special as possible and played a Durant tribute video in the first quarter. The front office was on hand to give Durant a standing ovation and acknowledge everything he had helped them achieve. Even though things ended quite depressingly with a heart-wrenched loss for Achilles and the Finals, it was still an incredible three-year run for Durant and the Warriors.
Durant, on the other hand, did not return hospitality. He lost 20 points, five rebounds and six assists to help the Nets claim a dominant victory.
Warriors are just not good enough
Ever since Klay Thompson fell with a torn Achilles, the big question with the Warriors was whether or not Steph Curry would have enough help to keep them competitive. Draymond Green is still there as a defensive presence and playmaker, but he’s barely shooting a few games these days and has never been a scoring threat.
So even if Curry gets you 30 a night, you still need a group of other players to step up. And to their credit, they did it on certain nights and against certain teams. But against the Nets, they just weren’t good enough. In the first three quarters, the unnamed Warriors Curry were 21 of 52 in the field, and Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. were the only others in double digits.
It’s not terrible, for example, but it’s just not good enough to beat a high-caliber team like the Nets.
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