The Brooklyn Nets headed to the Bay Area on Saturday night for a primetime fight with the Golden State Warriors, in what was announced as the return of Kevin Durant. He came in style, scoring 20 points, five rebounds and six assists to help the Nets secure an easy victory, 134-117.
There really wasn’t much drama in this, as the Nets took the lead at the end of the first quarter and never lost again. They led by double digits throughout the second half and, at one point, climbed 28 before losing the rest of the way.
Durant’s strong night was accompanied by his best teammates. Kyrie Irving had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, while James Harden made the point and finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and 16 assists. As usual, the Nets were dominant on the offensive side, throwing 53.8 percent of the field and knocking 16 points out of 3 points.
On the Warriors side, Stephen Curry got 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 ended up statistically having as much offensive success as they did was because Brooklyn was on autopilot in the fourth half.
Here are some key points of the impressive Nets victory:
Harden the facilitator
James Harden scores so much that passing will never be the first thing anyone will mention when it is discussed, but he really excels in that department. And since arriving in Brooklyn, he has made a point of facilitating and involving other people.
On Saturday night, he averaged 11.3 assists per game with the Nets, which would be a career record if he kept up that pace throughout the season. He increased that average against the Warriors by losing 16 assists – the largest of them with a Nets uniform.
They were not just shallow swing passes for an open shooter, either. He won his numbers with some truly brilliant discoveries. This Bruce Brown defender was especially skilled.
Irving gives a show
Quantifying something like a “hard shot maker” is difficult because it is largely based on aesthetics and personal preference, but even all of this subjectivity cannot deny Kyrie Irving his rightful place among the best in the league. Honestly, it sometimes seems like he purposely makes shooting more difficult than it should be.
Even for him, Saturday night was special. Zigzag pitches to the basket, reverse layups rotated on the glass, back off 3s, Irving had everything working on this. He was exhibiting all the skills that made him one of the best scorers of his generation. Like, what should you do against it?
Or this?
Durant returns to the bay
The biggest and most obvious story entering the game was Durant making his return to the Bay Area. With his injury and the pandemic, he had played a game at Golden State for two years. That absence ended on Saturday night, but unfortunately the fanless environment made it much less memorable than it should have been.
Still, the Warriors did their best to make things as special as possible and showed Durant a tribute video during the first quarter. The board was on hand to applaud Durant on his feet and acknowledge everything he helped them accomplish. Even though things ended in a very depressing way, with a loss in Achilles and in the finals, it was still an incredible three-year race for Durant and the Warriors.
Durant, on the other hand, did not return the hospitality. He lost 20 points, five rebounds and six assists to help the Nets secure a dominant victory.
Warriors are simply not good enough
Since Klay Thompson fell with a torn Achilles tendon, the big question with the Warriors was whether or not Steph Curry would have enough help for them to stay competitive. Draymond Green is still there as a defensive and creative presence, but he barely shoots a few games these days and has never been much of a threat to the goal.
So even if Curry earns 30 a night, you still need a lot of other players to perform. And to their credit, they have it on some nights and against some teams. But against the Nets, they just weren’t good enough. During the first three quarters, unnamed Curry Warriors were 21 out of 52 on the field, and Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. were the only others in double digits.
This is not terrible, say, but it is also not good enough to beat a high caliber team like the Nets.