Preview

Tom Dowd

The way Steve Nash looks at it, the Brooklyn Nets are still standing.

After rolling through the Boston Celtics in five games in the first round of the playoffs, the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Milwaukee Bucks has taken on the shape of the regular season. James Harden left Game 1 in the opening minute due to hamstring tightness and eventually returned for Game 5. A sprained ankle took Kyrie Irving out of the series in the second quarter of Game 4.

They lost that game in Milwaukee as the Bucks evened the series but bounced back behind Kevin Durant’s transcendent performance to take Game 5. Milwaukee’s Game 6 win sent the series back to Barclays Center for Game 7 on Saturday night in a series in which the home team has won every game.

“We’ve gone through so much this year,” said Nash. “This is not the way we envisioned our playoff run — losing Ky, having James be in the position he’s in, Jeff Green be in the position he’s in. We just look at this as a great opportunity. We’re still here. We’re still alive given everything that’s happened to us. We feel more a sense that we’ve done an incredible job to get here and to give ourselves a chance at home to win a Game 7.”

Kyrie Irving will remain out for Game 7 due to his right ankle sprain and Steve Nash said James Harden “came through fine” after playing 40 minutes in Game 6. Harden returned in Game 5 after missing all but a minute of the first four games.

“Clearly he made some shots,” said Nash. “He did some things. Certainly, rebounds, assists, steals, so James was better tonight as far as what he was able to do. But you know, it’s tough. He’s really limited and he can’t do a lot of things that he’s accustomed to doing. I’m grateful that it doesn’t appear that he has any setbacks, and if anything, he played a little bit better. But it’s a tough, tough position for James to be out there trying his best, trying to help this team and not be able to move the way he normally would.”

“He was moving better today but you know that's a tough, tough injury he's gutting it out for us,” said Kevin Durant. “We're not expecting too much from him movement wise but he's going out there and giving it his all and we respect that.”

Harden finished with 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and four steals. In Game 5 he had scored five points with eight assists, shooting 1-for-10 overall and 0-for-8 from 3-point range. He shot 5-for-9 and 3-for-6 in Game 6.

“It's not even about rust,” said Harden. “It's about being able to move, and I think as I go day-by-day, continue to get better. The last game, Game 5, was the first day that I did any movement like that since I got hurt, so tonight was no different, you know? I'm out there to do whatever it takes to win. I've got to be better on both end of the ball, which I will be in Game 7.”

Despite navigating through all sorts of availability issues and roster changes during the season, the Nets put up the highest offensive rating in NBA history. But the injuries to Kyrie Irving and James Harden have caught up to them over the last few games against the Bucks.

Over the last four games, the Nets have scored fewer than 100 points three times and their offensive rating is 98.2.

“We didn't create it the way we normally do, but we certainly had some good looks I thought in particular in the first half and in stretches,” said Steve Nash after the 104-89 Game 6 loss. “We had a lot of looks that we just didn't knock down. But overall I didn't like the way we played offensively like I said; we just looked a little slow, a little stagnant and got away from what we do best. But that's sometimes how it rolls in the playoffs, ups and downs, you have a great game, you come on their home floor and things look different. And now we get to go back to our home floor and hopefully play our best game of the series.”

The Nets have gotten Harden back, but his mobility is limited, and Nash acknowledged that showed up in Brooklyn being outscored 26-4 in transition points in Game 6.

“I think we can make adjustments,” said Nash. “We definitely can improve on the things we did. We were able to do it in Game 5. There is solutions to be made, there are adjustments we can have. As much as anything, it sometimes come down to shotmaking, especially early yesterday we had a lot of good looks that didn’t go in and that hurt us. We also were very careless with the ball and made errors that led to transition opportunities. This is what it is. This is the deck we have. We’re gonna solve as many puzzles as we can and we’re also gonna try and play our hearts out and enjoy the opportunity as we have done all year. We’ve found ways to persevere and to give ourselves an opportunity when it didn’t look good. For us, inside our group, we feel great. We feel excited for the opportunity. We feel a lot of belief and trust and excited to go out there and play in front of our fans in a deciding game.”

The Nets tightened things up further in Game 6, essentially playing with a six-man rotation throughout the game, plus some spot minutes for Bruce Brown, Mike James, and Nic Claxton. Kevin Durant, James Harden, Jeff Green, and Joe Harris all played at least 35 minutes. Only Durant attempted 10 shots or more.

“Frankly, we got some more inexperienced guys on the bench,” said Steve Nash, “so we’re playing heavier minutes for the guys who’ve been there before, and then a little bit of it is having Kyrie out. It kind of limits our options.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 7: Back to Brooklyn for the Series

Kevin Durant already had three double-doubles through the first four games of the Eastern Conference semifinals and they all came on points/rebounds combinations. To record his second career playoff triple-double — the greatest triple-double in NBA playoff history — he elevated his playmaking and lifted the Nets to a 114-108 Game 5 win.

Durant’s all-time performance gave Brooklyn a 3-2 series lead and a chance to clinch a berth in the Eastern Conference finals in Thursday night’s Game 6 in Milwaukee.

“I didn’t plan on doing that,” said Durant of some first-half facilitating. “I always try to be aggressive to get to my spots to score and settle my teammates down. But this team does a lot of helping and a lot of swarming in the paint. In previous games, I may have forced a couple shots over two people where I threw out for a hockey assist tonight. So keep watching film, keep reading where the defense is coming from. At the end of the day, I’ve got to be aggressive.”

“His playmaking, once he got to his spots, and the second defender came over and helped he made the right decision the majority of the time, if not every time,” said James Harden. “That��s an improvement in his game right there. He’s not just a scorer. He’s gonna make plays and let the game come to him. He’s one of a kind.”

Durant finished with 10 assists to go with 49 points and 17 rebounds. Seven of those assists came in the second half — as did 31 of his points — as Nets head coach Steve Nash opted to put the ball in Durant’s hands more to run the offense with Harden playing for the first time since Game 1.

“I know the perception of me is that I can score the basketball well but any team that I’ve played on I’ve been asked to do pretty much everything — rebounding to defending to initiating to scoring,” said Durant. “I might not do it all the time but I do a little bit of everything out there so I knew at some point coach would ask me to screen, rebound, defend, bring the ball up, score, shoot threes, so I just work on everything I can in practice and when the game comes around I just gotta be ready to do anything so tonight was one of those nights.”

“He's always been well rounded,” said Jeff Green, who began his NBA career alongside Durant as rookie teammates in Seattle in 2007. “I think people just notice the scoring because he makes it look easy. He's always been somebody who makes the extra pass. He's a hooper. He plays basketball. He makes the right play. His offensive skill set just overshadows everything he does because he can do pretty much everything on the floor. He's a well-rounded player, a guy who makes the right pass. He reads the game well and he showcased that tonight.”

Putting the ball in Kevin Durant’s hands was just part of the Nets finding their way through Game 5 on the offensive end. They made just 4-of-20 shots in the first quarter but eventually scored 71 points in the second half while shooting 64.9 percent overall and 47.6 percent from 3-point range.

“They were doing more of the things we've been preaching, and it took a while to get there,” said Steve Nash. “But I think it was difficult for everyone just to feel out the new dynamic: Without Ky, with James, James not being the James we know but wanting to help his teammates and soldier through it. I think it took us a moment…longer than a moment. But it took us a while before we could find a cohesion. So, just another thing that's been thrown at us in the game tonight, and we've we were fortunate enough to have the toughness to stick with it. And we kept telling stick with it. And they found a little bit of cohesion at the right time.”

Kyrie Irving will again be out after suffering a sprained ankle in Game 4, but Steve Nash said James Harden was feeling good on Wednesday morning after playing 46 minutes in his return in Game 5 and was ready to go.

“I don’t know at all what James will look like for the next game compared to last night,” said Nash. “But, you know, I think there are certain things that he will feel more comfortable with just from a comfort of having played more basketball, from having a game under his belt, having felt it out there — that can only make him more comfortable and improve if physically he’s okay, and so far, he is. I don’t know. Maybe they will try to target him more. It’s not really what they do, it would be a departure in some ways. But they may, they may. And we will be ready for that as well.”

A Game 5 loss would have meant going to Milwaukee for Game 6 facing elimination and the stakes were reflected in Steve Nash’s personnel choices. Kevin Durant played 48 minutes and James Harden played 46. Mike James and Nic Claxton played a combined five minutes, all in the first quarter, leaving the Nets with essentially a seven-man rotation for the rest of the game. Bruce Brown started the game, played five minutes in the first quarter, then sat all but 30 seconds of the second and third quarters before coming back for seven minutes in the fourth.

What does the rotation look like for Game 6 and how far is Nash willing to push Durant and Harden again?

“I think that’s something that we have to feel out as we go,” said Nash. “There is no championship if you don’t get out of this series. There’s obviously a point where you have to go and you have to play like we did last night. If it presents itself that we don’t have to overburden them we’d be happy not to but if we have to, we have to and that’s just the nature of it.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 6: Kevin Durant's Playmaking Elevates Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Nets will be without both Kyrie Irving and possibly James Harden as well for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at Barclays Center. Irving has been listed as out on the team's status report while Harden's status was updated to doubtful and then to questionable on Tuesday after initially being listed as out on Monday.

Harden has been out since suffering a hamstring strain in the first minute of Game 1 against the Bucks, while Irving left Sunday’s Game 4 loss midway through the second quarter with a sprained right ankle. The series is now tied at two games apiece.

“It’s tough to lose great players,” said Nets head coach Steve Nash. “But we've lost guys all season. So if there's any silver lining is that we've continued to win games this year regardless of who's been available. We've been able to adapt on the fly, which is difficult to do sometimes. But for us, that's something we've had some experience with. We should have some comfort in belief that no matter who plays we can still perform and play well and be very difficult to beat. So I'm excited for our guys; great opportunity, no matter who plays to play in a really big playoff game at home and improve from the last game.”

This is something Brooklyn has seen before. Irving, Harden and Kevin Durant notably played a total of eight games and 202 minutes together during the regular season, and that didn’t stop the Nets from compiling a 48-24 record that earned them the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed.

Even as the Nets navigated roster and availability fluidity throughout the season, they compiled the most efficient offensive season in basketball history with an offensive rating of 117.3 points per 100 possessions. They were also second in the league with 118.6 points per game, first in field goal percentage (49.4) and second in 3-point percentage (39.2).

“I think we try to stick with our principles and our fundamentals which is connectivity, competitive spirit, embracing the opportunity and going out there and playing as a team,” said Nash. “This does not fall on Kevin. It falls on the Nets. We got to find a way together to play great basketball, both ends of the floor. We've proven we can do it. We had a great series offensively in the first two games, defensively for the most part and now we’ve got to put it together in a pivotal Game 5.”

Through nine playoff games, Durant is averaging 31.3 points on 50.3 percent shooting, including 42.6 from 3-point range, with 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game.

“For me, I’m not the one that’s injured,” said Durant. “For Kyrie and James, this is an opportunity for them to play at the highest level. And to not play because of injuries, I feel more for them than for me. It’s got nothing to do with me. I wish my brothers were out there playing. I wish they were healthy, but like you said, that’s a part of the game. We all understand that. We wish they were out there playing, but I know they’re going to be doing their best to get back on the floor and get healthy as fast as possible. That’s all we can hope for, and the rest of the guys who are healthy enough to play, we’ve got to come out there and play as hard as we can every possession. That’s always been the mantra for us every day is to play focused and disciplined basketball. But nothing changes. We wish our brothers were out there.”

Forward Jeff Green was a gameday decision before returning to action in Game 4 against Milwaukee on Sunday. Green had been out since leaving Game 2 of the first round series against Boston due to a plantar fascia strain.

“Tired. But I knew that was gonna happen,” said Green. “I’ve gotta find my rhythm sitting out that long. Especially for the players it’s tough to just bounce back in and try to come out and be who I was before the injury. The rhythm has to come. I wasn’t tired tired, but I got a little fatigued. It’s tough to replicate game-like situations especially with playoff intensity. It’ll come back. I’ve gotta get my rest and try to do whatever I can to help our team in Game 5.”

Steve Nash acknowledged before the game that there would be some minutes limits on Green if he played, and the 27 minutes he registered — with eight points and five rebounds — probably exceeded that after the Nets lost Kyrie Irving in the second quarter.

“He played a lot more minutes than we expected,” said Nash. “I think Kyrie going down we used his versatility to try different things. I'm proud of him for playing. He wasn't supposed to play today, a couple days ago, so for him to ratchet it up and get out there tonight was great. Unfortunately it was a tough night and Kyrie going down so early he had to play more but maybe this will, if it's not too provocative of the injury this will help him in subsequent games.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 5: Kyrie Irving Out, James Harden Questionable for Brooklyn

The impact of Brooklyn’s 86-83 Game 3 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night may ultimately be determined by the result of Sunday’s Game 4. If the Nets win and take a 3-1 lead back to Brooklyn, Game 3 will likely become a footnote on the road to the Eastern Conference finals. A Milwaukee win to even the series will change the shape of things and Game 3 will feel even more like Steve Nash and Joe Harris acknowledged on Saturday — a missed opportunity to have seized a commanding lead in the series.

“Those Game 3s — especially when you're up 2-0 — those are huge games in terms of how the series might shift,” said Harris. “But this is the reality of the matter. We lost a tough one. And I think all the focus and energy is not necessarily dwelling on what happened. We build on it, try and learn from it, you know, analyze some of the film; but all of the focus and attention is on Game 4 and trying to have a better night.”

The Nets continued their excellent defensive showing against Milwaukee, holding the league’s highest scoring team to 86 points for the second consecutive game. Anything in the neighborhood of an average Brooklyn offensive showing would have put the Nets over the top. But they shot just 36.2 percent overall and 25.0 percent from 3-point range after ranking first and second in those two categories during the regular season and going into the game shooting 49.6 percent and 43.2 percent through their first seven playoff games.

“It was a missed opportunity,” said Nash. ‘We missed a lot of shots, lot of makeable shots but we don’t just chalk it all up to that. We recognize that you still have to find a way to win even if the ball’s not going in the basket like it normally does. We missed a great opportunity but we also have a lot of things that we can improve and clean up and have a better performance.”

How much of an aberration was Thursday’s game? It was Brooklyn’s lowest-scoring game of the season, only the second time out of 80 games they scored fewer than 90 points. The Nets also had their second-lowest field goal percentage of the year. The other game in both of those fields was the 118-88 loss to Utah on March 24 in which the Nets were without James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant and Harris played just five minutes when the game got out of hand quickly.

That doesn’t mean they’re taking the offensive end for granted going into Game 4.

“We definitely cannot bank on that our offense is always gonna be there,” said Harris. “I thought even though it wasn't, we still gave ourselves a chance to win because the defense was sound and pretty solid for most of the night, but offensively, a lot of the stuff that we needed to clean up, areas where we definitely got good looks. There was good offensive action, we executed pretty well and we got a lot of clean looks, but we also had a lot of contested ones, tough ones and put ourselves in a bad spot defensively as well where they were kind of attacking us, putting us on our heels in transition primarily early on in the game. You can't come out and have the start that we did and expect to win a pivotal playoff game.”

Brooklyn’s outstanding defensive results continued against the Bucks in Game 3. After averaging 120.1 points per game during the regular season, Milwaukee is averaging 93.0 through three games and shooting 42.2 percent overall and 22.7 percent from 3-point range. In Game 3 the Bucks shot 37.8 and 19.4 percent.

“I think we always look to have the requisite fight and connectivity defensively,” said Steve Nash. “I think that's been pretty consistent throughout the playoffs. I just think our group is learning, growing as we go here. We got a lot of opportunities of late to test ourselves to ask questions of ourselves and come up with solutions and continue to improve. We're always looking to improve, so win or lose we're looking to improve. When you lose obviously it hurts and you want to make up for it, but I think our team is moving in the right direction. We're defending better than we have all year.”

Milwaukee got 68 of its 86 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, who had scored 30 points total through the first two games while shooting 30.2 percent overall and 3-for-13 on 3-pointers. While Antetokounmpo had 33 points, it took him 31 shots to get there and he launched eight 3-pointers against Brooklyn’s drop coverage, making just one.

“At the beginning of the series, it’s kind of like I said, you don’t really guard him one-on-one, you guard him by committee,” said Blake Griffin. “For the most part, we’ve done a solid job. I know he’s got points here and there, he had points in the last game, but we’re just trying to make it tough on him. Being physical, giving him some space, but he’s a two-time MVP so he’s going to get shots. You can’t overreact to certain things. We’ve got to stay on it and tweak a few things and be better, but overall, I think we’ve done a solid job.”

Steve Nash said James Harden is out for Game 4 and Jeff Green is questionable. Green has been out since Game 3 of the first round series against Boston with a plantar fascia strain while Harden left Game 1 against the Bucks with hamstring tightness.

“I know it's tough. I know it's eating him alive inside just being on the sideline,” said Kyrie Irving of Harden. “So he does what he can to offer us advice and just keeping us balanced and grounded throughout the…It's unfortunate that even in the regular season, he was in street clothes when we were playing the Bucks. So we're very familiar with this territory, where we just don't want to lose our momentum. So he tries to keep us going in that sense. And we're just thankful and grateful that we have him out here with us as kind of player coach.”

When the Nets were stuck in neutral, scoring just 11 first-quarter points in Game 3, it was Bruce Brown who got things moving in the right direction in the second quarter. Brown scored eight straight Brooklyn points in a familiar way — rolling into the paint and dropping in floaters, this time over the outstretched arms of Milwaukee’s seven-foot center, Brook Lopez. Brown’s run brought the Nets within 32-26 just over four minutes into the quarter after they had trailed by as many as 21 points.

“Brook Lopez was in the drop, committed to the ball,” said Brown. “So I was just really getting to my floater every time.”

Brown finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, both playoff career highs, and his first career playoff double-double.

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 4: Brooklyn Seeks to Recover Missed Opportunity

The Brooklyn Nets had a 2-0 series lead after Monday night’s 125-86 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks, but nobody was getting ahead of anything.

The series, Bruce Brown said, begins with Game 3 when the Bucks get their first home game of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Thursday night at Fiserv Forum.

“I feel like that's every team's mentality if you got home court,” said Kevin Durant. “We know how important Game 3's are and we know that their crowd is going to be in it from the second we get on the floor for warmups and we know their guys they play better and more comfortable when they sleep in their own beds and got their same routines at home. So we got our work cut out for us but we're looking forward to it.”

Through two games, the Nets have shot 49.5 percent overall and 44.4 percent from 3-point range and posted a net rating of 23.6 — averaging 120.6 points per 100 possessions and limiting the Bucks to 97.0 points per 100 possessions.

“We obviously feel good, but at the same time, we know that there is still a lot of basketball to be played and now the whole mindset is not to be complacent or lax, just to have the same level of focus and preparation going into Game 3,” said Joe Harris. “It’s going to be a tough environment in Milwaukee. We know that they are definitely going to play a lot better than they did these last two games here in Brooklyn. Our attention to detail and our focus, all that has to remain the same for Game 3.”

The Bucks had a 26-10 record at home this season, tied for fifth in the NBA. In the first round, the Nets dropped Game 3 in Boston after winning the first two games at Barclays Center, eventually closing out the Celtics in five games.

“It's the nature of basketball at this level,” said Kyrie Irving. “I mean, being in the playoffs, understanding that the home crowd does make a difference and people play a lot more comfortable when they're at home. They've able to see their families, they're able to prepare. They're able to get the shots, they're able to weight lift, they're able to do the little things that keeps them in their routine or comfortable. So, we just want to come in and break their rhythm a little bit. Understand that runs are gonna happen. They're on their home floors. Those guys are looking for a response game and we just have to be prepared. It's simple. The fans aren't going to come on the court and block anybody's shots or do anything and that makes a difference in our communication. So, we just have to make sure we're doing those little things.”

Nets head coach Steve Nash said that Jeff Green and James Harden both remain out for Game 3 but will travel with the team to Milwaukee. Harden suffered a hamstring strain in Game 1 of the series and Nash said he is “progressing nicely” but that there was not a timetable for his return.

Green has been out with a plantar fascia strain in his left foot since leaving Game 2 of the first round series against the Boston Celtics. He said on Wednesday afternoon he had been playing through the issue throughout the season but aggravated it when he came down awkwardly after a dunk.

Green also said that he hadn’t begun practicing yet — “If I was practicing, I’d be playing,” he said — but that he was hopeful about playing in Sunday’s Game 4.

“It’s like you can't put a lot of pressure, you know for me and the way I play,” said Green. “Being able to — I can walk, obviously, but it's a little bit of discomfort when I walk. You know, the pressure with the shoe, the cutting and everything. It's almost like having a really, really bad sprained ankle but on the bottom of your foot. So, the whole planting and explosion is something that just comes with it. It's been hard to really be me early on when I first did it. But I played through it during the year, but on that one play it kinda strained a little bit more than normal. So, I am able to get back out there now and obviously run, but the cutting is something that hasn't come back yet.”

Part of Brooklyn’s strong defensive play through two games against Milwaukee has been closing out possessions and the Nets have been much stronger on the defensive boards compared to their first round series against Boston. The Nets had a defensive rebounding percentage of 64.5 against the Celtics as Boston averaged 12.6 offensive rebounds and 16.0 second chance points.

Against the Bucks, the Nets have grabbed 71.8 percent of available defensive rebounds and they’ve cleaned up since allowing nine offensive rebounds and nine second chance points in the first quarter of Game 1. Since then, Milwaukee has had 17 offensive rebounds for 22 points over seven quarters.

“More of just like a conscious group rebounding effort, always having a body on Brook (Lopez), I mean, Brook's huge,” said Blake Griffin. “So always having a body on him and then everybody coming back in. I think the first quarter of the first game I didn't do a great job of coming back in after challenging a Giannis (Antetokounmpo) shot or if he was floating around the perimeter, I didn't do a great job of that. So I think as a whole we've done a much better job of gang rebounding since that first quarter.”

It’s playoff time, when emphasis tends to shift even more to star play and ball movement slows. While the Nets lead playoff teams with 21.7 isolations per game — almost double their regular season number — their assist numbers remain impressive after the best season in franchise history in the category.

Brooklyn’s 24.6 assists per game in the playoffs are down slightly from their 26.8 average for the season but their ranking has risen from seventh to fourth. They’re essentially even with the regular season league average, which has also dropped by two assists per game in the playoffs. They’re also committing the second-fewest turnovers — 10.7 per game, down from 13.5 per game during the regular season. In two games against Milwaukee, the Nets have 52 assists against just 18 turnovers.

“That's how you play the game the right way,” said Kyrie Irving. “You know, we are very special individually but the selflessness which you're referring to is really what creates the difference. Defense is going to win us games down the stretch, but offensively playing the right way and trusting one another is — those little plays that make the difference towards the end of the game where we don't have to go for it all right then and there wherever the score is. So, like I said, this team, we've grown so much and we continue to do so. Obviously, we're missing James. You know, and we're just filling in the pieces for him.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 3: Brooklyn Takes a 2-0 Lead Into Milwaukee

The Brooklyn Nets closed out the Boston Celtics without Jeff Green and have jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the Milwaukee Bucks without James Harden. Both will be out for Monday’s Game 2 at Barclays Center as well.

As they have throughout the season in finishing 48-24 and in second place in the Eastern Conference, the Nets have managed through these moments. Against Milwaukee on Saturday, they never trailed in the second half, leading by as many as 19 points in their 115-107 win.

The plug-and-play contribution this time came from reserve point guard Mike James, who had played just nine minutes in the five-game series against Boston, but it’s something the Nets have seen all season long.

“You never know what's going to happen over the course of the playoffs,” said Joe Harris. “You see it year after year where different people have huge impacts being able to come in and it might be the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th guy on the roster and you just never know what's going to happen, what sort of situation presents itself and then I think it's just about staying ready, exactly like what we were talking with somebody like Mike James where he didn't play at all in the first series but his number is called and he's ready to go.”

“I think we have a great environment,” said Nets head coach Steve Nash. “Guys believe in one another. Our guys have confidence in one another. We have a team that I think is on the same page, has good chemistry off the floor even if we haven't had a lot of time together on the floor. We have a great work environment here, very collaborative and the stay ready group — they've been very dedicated, kept guys in condition and with enough sharpness to jump into a game or even a playoff game like Mike James last night. So, my hat is off to the players for being able to absorb all the different things that have been thrown at us this year and to my staff that's just been terrific and just keeping these guys ready and creating this environment.”

Green has been out since Game 3 of the Boston series due to a plantar fascia strain. Harden has been ruled out for Monday’s game due to right hamstring tightness but there was no prognosis beyond that for a potential return. A right hamstring strain cost Harden 18 consecutive games in April and May before he returned in the final week of the regular season.

Nash said the Nets are “preparing for tomorrow night as we ended up playing last night,” and that consisted of an eight-man rotation once Harden left the game. The Nets relied on 30 minutes from James, who played largely with Kyrie Irving, who logged 45 minutes.

Obviously the Nets will need to plug in a new starter. After cycling through a franchise-record 38 starting lineups during the regular season, Brooklyn had started the same lineup through all six playoff games. Bruce Brown replaced Harden when he left Saturday’s game and started the second half as well. But the Nets will be without a three-time scoring champion who is also one of the league’s elite playmakers.

“He's one of the greatest players in the game,” said Nash. “So we miss a guy that can playmake, that can manipulate the defense, can score one-on-one. I could keep going. He's a leader for us. And so we miss a tremendous amount. But we've had that all year. We've had guys in and out of the lineup, guys have stepped up. We are in a position where at least we're familiar with making adjustments with our lineups, rotations, combinations, and we were able to survive it yesterday, and we'll have to be even more cohesive and clear tomorrow night to win.”

The Nets held the Bucks to 107 points in Game 1 and the biggest factor there was Milwaukee’s 6-for-20 shooting from 3-point range. Aside from that, the Bucks shot 54.9 percent on 2-point attempts — a top 10 rate during the regular season — with 72 points in the paint and 20 second chance points.

“We didn’t give them a lot of wide-open threes,” said Steve Nash. “Having said that, can they make some more of those? For sure. It’s one of those things. I thought we missed a lot of open threes as well. So it’s one of those things where making and missing is a part of this league, it’s a part of the outcomes, but you can’t necessarily plan for makes and misses. You plan to have priorities and a strategy and try to execute it and you also hope that your team consistently shoots the ball we as well.”

From Kevin Durant to Kyrie Irving, the Nets made it clear they don’t expect to see the Bucks shoot 20 percent on 3-pointers again.

“It don’t really matter, man. It was just one game,” said Irving. “They’re not going to shoot that way, you know probably next game or the rest of the series because they’re gonna be focused. They’re gonna get some even better shots and other guys are going to play with a higher sense of verve and you just have to be ready for that. So, I think we did a great job contesting a few different plays they got some easy ones. And we just want to clean that up. But we’re playing against great players. So, we know they’re going to shoot better. We just have to continue to contest and be in the right spot.”

The Bucks were fifth in the league during the regular season in shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range, but they’ve been in a rut since the playoffs started, even though they swept the Heat in the first round. Through five playoff games, Miami is shooting 30.7 percent on 3-pointers. The only two teams with a worse percentage this postseason, the Lakers and Wizards, are home for the summer.

In James Harden’s absence, Kyrie Irving led Brooklyn with eight assists on Saturday, while Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Bruce Brown, and Mike James had three each. The Nets finished with 25 assists against just eight turnovers. Irving had just one turnover in 45 minutes and James didn’t turn the ball over at all in 30 minutes.

“I just thought we were willing to share and make quick decisions, move the ball, play together, play off one another,” said Steve Nash. “We were unselfish and willing to make the extra pass, and I think it created a lot of opportunities for us.”

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 2: Brooklyn Ready to Adjust Again

They were the two highest scoring teams in the NBA this season and if you scan any of the other top offensive statistical rankings from the 2020-21 season you’ll finding them hugging the top of the list. There’s two MVPs on one roster, a two-time MVP on the other.

It’s the Brooklyn Nets against the Milwaukee Bucks in an Eastern Conference semifinal that will send one of these two high-powered teams home earlier than anybody will be comfortable with. It’s a stage set with all the elements for a playoff series that could be one to remember.

“There’s no question the potential is there,” said Nets head coach Steve Nash. “We will see how it plays out, but they’re playing as well as any team in the league right now and we have the talent to match any team in the league, it’s just a matter of who performs, who has that grit and toughness to try to get ahead in this series and then see how the other team responds. So, but definitely on paper you could see this being a classic series. But let’s see who brings it and who has the rhythm and timing and performances that are sharper.”

Going into Saturday night’s Game 1, the second-seeded Nets come in off a five-game dispatching of the Boston Celtics that featured an epic offensive display. Brooklyn put up an offensive rating of 128.0 points per 100 possessions against Boston, well above their 117.3 mark during the regular season, which was only an all-time NBA record. The third-seeded Bucks, a top-10 defense during the regular season, throttled the Miami Heat in allowing 95.4 points per 100 possessions in a four-game sweep.

The Bucks represent the type of opponent Nash has been referencing as waiting for the Nets all season — a group that has built playoff experience together over the past few years. Milwaukee had the NBA’s best record each of the past two seasons before finishing two games behind Brooklyn this season.

It was that “continuity” that jumped out to Blake Griffin as a defining characteristic of this Bucks team.

“Obviously Jrue (Holiday) is a little bit new to their team, but I think they just have a system sort of, and they all know their positions,” said Griffin. “For them, they have three guys that can really, really hurt you. And then they have a great group of complementary players. So those are the things that jump out at you right away. And then defensively, they're long. So you know, this series — even more so than last — is a detail oriented series, in my opinion.”

The Nets have been navigating a different course, integrating all sorts of new pieces and navigating plenty of twists along the way. There was Nash, the new coach, and Kevin Durant returning after missing the 2019-20 season. Kyrie Irving played just 20 games a year ago. Then, less than a month into the season, came the blockbuster trade for James Harden. That was nearly four months ago, but injuries kept the group from coalescing for much of the regular season.

So Nash has emphasized the ongoing mission of building cohesion and connectivity and doesn’t mind saying that it continues into the playoffs

“It just feels authentic,” said Nash. “That is our reality. We’re trying to put the pieces together on the fly and that’s our challenge. I think it’s also normal to ask those questions and I think it’s honest and authentic to answer it. That is true. We accept that and that’s OK. We don’t hide from it. We accept it and it’s not an excuse. We’re not sitting here trying to have a built-in excuse either. I don’t want any excuses from our staff or our players or anyone. That is the gap that our team is fighting against. Every team has their gap, has their deficiency or growth area that they need and that is the primary one for us.”

The Milwaukee Bucks are coming off a first-round sweep of Miami in which they limited the Heat to 95.4 points per 100 possessions and a 39.5 field goal percentage. Milwaukee averaged 59.0 rebounds and 26.8 assists in the series, ranking first in the league in both categories through the first two weeks of the playoffs. The Bucks are the No. 3 seed after finishing the regular season two games behind the Nets with a 46-26 record. In sweeping a two-game series in Milwaukee in early May in which the Nets were without James Harden, the Bucks edged the Nets 2-1 in the season series. Milwaukee had one of the few offenses in the NBA that operated in the same air as Brooklyn’s all-time leader in offensive rating. While the Bucks were fifth in that category with 116.5 points per game 100 possessions, they led the NBA in points per game (120.1) and were second in effective field goal percentage (56.6), third in field goal percentage (48.7), and fifth in 3-point percentage (38.9) while playing at the league’s second-fastest pace (102.85). Milwaukee ranked ninth in defensive rating (100.7), second in rebounds per game (48.1) and first in defensive rebounds per game (37.8). Giannis Antetokounmpo was fifth in the NBA in scoring (28.1) and ninth in rebounding (11.0) while shooting 56.9 percent and also averaging 5.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game. Khris Middleton averaged 20.4 points per game while shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range with 6.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. After posting the best record in the league each of the last two seasons but falling short of the NBA Finals, the Bucks reshuffled this season with a big trade for guard Jrue Holiday, an elite defender who averaged 17.7 points, 6.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals while shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point range. They also picked up defensive-minded forward P.J. Tucker in a midseason trade with Houston.

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Nets vs. Bucks Game 1: Brooklyn and Milwaukee Could Be Tipping Off a Classic

The Brooklyn Nets have an opportunity to lock up their first-round playoff series when they host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in Game 5 at Barclays Center.

The second-seeded Nets are up 3-1 in the series after Sunday night’s 141-126 win in which they elevated their offensive game even further.

Brooklyn set an NBA record for offensive efficiency in the regular season even while having the combined talents of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden rarely operating together. With Harden returning from a hamstring strain in time for the playoffs, the results have been explosive.

In Sunday’s win, the Nets had an offensive rating of 143.9 points scored per 100 possessions. Through four games, Brooklyn’s offensive rating of 127.6 is the NBA’s highest in this season’s playoffs. For reference, the Nets’ NBA record offensive rating during the season was 117.3. The Nets have scored 130-plus points twice in four games, both times reaching the 100-point mark before the end of the third quarter.

As for the combination of Harden, Durant, and Irving, the trio scored 104 points in Game 4 after combining for 96 in Game 3. Brooklyn’s starting lineup of those three plus Joe Harris and Blake Griffin is plus 48 in 53 minutes through four games with shooting splits of 56.3 and 47.8 percent and an offensive rating of 137.4. Durant is the playoffs’ leading scorer, averaging 34.8 points per game while shooting 55.5 percent.

It was an inhospitable crowd in Boston for Kyrie Irving throughout the weekend and it escalated when a fan threw a water bottle at the former Celtics guard as he exited the court after Sunday night’s win. While the Celtics still had limited capacity for Friday’s Game 3, TD Garden had a sellout crowd of 17,226 on Sunday.

“I’ve been part of a lot of hostile environments since I was a kid,” said Irving. “It’s not the first time in my life that I’ve had to bounce back from one of those types of performances that isn’t typical of me, in terms of the big stage, and I can’t do it alone. So in between the last day or so, just spending some time with my teammates, spending time with myself and having conversations to keep me balanced and grounded and go out there and have fun and play basketball at a high level. I’m grateful to be able to put on a uniform and just go out there and perform with some guys who are very selfless and just wanted to see some good basketball out there and we did the little things to help each other win.”

Irving and the Nets departed Boston with a 3-1 series lead after their 141-126 win on Sunday night, with a virtuoso performance from the Brooklyn guard. Irving put up 23 points in the first half to help drive the Nets to a 13-point lead at the break and went on to finish with 39 while making six 3-pointers, leading the Nets in rebounds as well with 11 for a double-double.

“Kyrie has been through some tough times in his life that’s off the basketball court, so him coming in here, this is his sanctuary,” said Kevin Durant. “No matter what’s being said from the stands, he knows that everybody in between those lines respects him for who he is as a player, as a person, and his teammates have his back. We didn’t worry about handling this crowd. Everybody throws insults at every player in this league. He came out here and wanted to play better than he did last game, and he came out here and executed.”

“Mental toughness? One of the best I’ve ever seen,” said James Harden. “For him, all the emotions or whatever is going through his mind, which I’m sure a million things go through his mind. He goes out there, blocks everything out and just be himself and from a guy that probably would say he didn’t play his best game in Game 3 came in and had a killer instinct, killer mentality, and had a will to win Game 4. It showed. He was aggressive and when Ky’s aggressive like that, nobody can guard him. That gives our team energy as well. Big-time effort from him, big-time effort from our team.”

After a historic scoring performance, the first thing James Harden and Kevin Durant wanted to talk about after Sunday’s win was defense. While Jayson Tatum followed up his Game 3 50-point game with 40 points, the Nets limited Boston’s complementary players. Evan Fournier, Marcus Smart, and Tristan Thompson had combined for 59 points on 61.1 percent shooting in Game 3 but didn’t come close to matching that in Game 4.

“Evan Fournier 5-for-15. Marcus Smart 4-for-12, 2-for-9 from three,” said Durant. “We tried to take those guys out. We know once they get it going, their team can change and become high powered. So Tatum, he’s gonna get his looks, he’s gonna get his touches. But the other guys we did a solid job on.”