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It was James Harden and a shorthanded supporting solid towards the world Thursday evening at Barclays Heart, and that merely wasn’t adequate because the Nets suffered a 130-109 loss to the bottom-feeding Thunder. The loss dropped the Nets’ dwelling document to 11-11 and left them at 26-15 on the midway mark of the season.
The Nets rested Kevin Durant and Patty Mills and, in fact, they didn’t have Kyrie Irving, who’s ineligible for dwelling video games as a result of he’s unvaccinated. LaMarcus Aldridge and Nic Claxton additionally sat out with accidents.
As a result of it got here on the finish of a stretch of 4 video games in 5 nights and journey that spanned coast-to-coast, the beginning time towards the Thunder was pushed again from the standard 7:30 p.m. to eight:30 p.m. The Nets had been coming off a season-best efficiency of their 138-112 win over the Bulls on Wednesday evening in Chicago, however their flight dwelling didn’t arrive till about 5 a.m. Thursday.
So the Nets had been up towards vital logical and manpower obstacles, as Harden defined when requested how he felt after the sport.
“Drained,” he mentioned. “Exhausted. Nah, man, it’s simply been due to the COVID. As a substitute of getting two days [off during the past five days], we needed to comply with with Portland [Monday], then come again to Chicago [Wednesday] after which play tonight shorthanded. So it’s so much.
“At the moment was positively a bit of irritating as a result of we wished to win. We performed so properly final evening, so we wished to have some form of carryover. But it surely simply didn’t occur. We bought in fairly early. I didn’t actually get to mattress till 7:30 after which awoke early. So it was loopy. However we tried.”
The Nets trailed by 22 early within the third interval however managed an 18-6 run that included eight factors from David Duke Jr. to chop their deficit to 10 factors, however that ballooned to 100-83 by the top of the interval.
Again-to-back three-pointers by Harden triggered a 13-4 Nets run to chop the deficit to 104-96 on a layup by Cam Thomas with 8:27 to go. However the Thunder responded with a fusillade of 5 three-pointers in a clinching 19-6 run to revive a 21-point lead.
Harden had 26 factors and 9 assists however shot 7-for-22. Thomas added 19 factors.
The Thunder (14-27) bought 33 factors, 10 rebounds and 9 assists from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 27 factors from Luguentz Dort. The Thunder shot 44.4% from three-point vary (20-for- 45) and held the Nets to 21.9% (7-for-32) from outdoors the arc.
“They made some robust pictures,” Harden mentioned. “On paper, they’re one of many worst three-point taking pictures groups within the league, they usually made 20-plus threes. So give them credit score.”
The Nets’ fatigue confirmed from the beginning as they gave up 38 factors within the first interval and 70 by halftime and trailed by as a lot as 21 within the first half.
“One a part of us is simply glad to get this week over with, touring throughout the nation, 4 in 5 nights, time zones, late video games, early video games, all that stuff,” coach Steve Nash mentioned. “I felt for our guys a bit of bit making an attempt to get some juice tonight.
“We didn’t play properly. That’s a part of it. These guys performed very properly and made pictures. They’re a pack-the-paint staff. We had a bunch of shooters out of the lineup, and it was robust. We scrapped and clawed and bought it again to eight, however you may simply inform it was a tricky job for our guys with all the journey and taking part in.”
Reflecting on the issue of taking part in 4 video games in 5 nights whereas touring from coast-to-coast, Nash chalked it as much as the calls for of navigating well being and security protocols and schedule adjustments within the COVID period.
“Nobody’s going to really feel sorry for us,” he mentioned. “We acknowledge what it’s. We’re glad to get it behind us, and we’re lucky we received two of the video games. We had possibly our greatest efficiency of the 12 months on this stretch [at Chicago], so tons to construct on. We bought some relaxation tonight for some guys which have performed a ton of minutes, and we bought some reps for some youthful guys to proceed to develop.”
Notes & quotes: The choice to relaxation each Durant and Mills at a time when the Nets are lacking a number of key rotational gamers begged the query of why they didn’t stagger it and relaxation one towards the Thunder and the opposite towards the visiting Pelicans on Saturday evening.
“I believe these guys have simply performed a lot and have had a lot accountability within the video games lately that it wouldn’t be sensible for them to play tonight,” Nash mentioned. “Patty’s been form of on the sting so far as his load for some time now, and Kevin can also be. It was a bit of little bit of a threat that we didn’t need to take tonight. For those who get cute and attempt to combine it up, you’re placing a threat on a type of guys.”
Greg Logan has labored for Newsday since 1982 overlaying a wide selection of sports activities and occasions, at present together with the Brooklyn Nets beat.
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