Job one for the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night was shoring up the defense after two disappointing games in Cleveland. They did enough in the 128-124 win over Miami, particularly in limiting the Heat to 28.3 percent shooting from 3-point range and outrebounding them 47-30, allowing just two offensive boards. They’ll face the Heat again on Monday night at Barclays Center.
“For the most part, I think we were more physical and we were communicating,” said James Harden. “And we were on a string. That helps our rebounding, that helps our positioning – to help each other out. So, like I said, communication is very key. And as long as we have each other’s back, we are able to get stops at a high level.”
With Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro out, and the Heat misfiring from deep, most of the offense came from center Bam Adebayo, who scored 41 points on 14-of-20 shooting, plus 12-of-14 from the line.
“Bam was exceptional in the midrange,” said Nets coach Steve Nash. “But we made him take tough shots. He got a lot of good rolls tonight. He's a terrific player. But overall, it took a really hot night from him in the midrange to get them back in the game. So that's positive. We're not giving up a bunch of 3s to them, especially for the first three quarters. That's really positive, because when they do have their guys they can get hot from 3, and that's one way they can beat you.”
“I thought we played with a sense of urgency,” said Kevin Durant. “We made sure our technique was right and our schemes. I think we did a good job of forcing those guys off the 3-point line. They threw it to Bam, who is an All-Star in the post, and he did his thing. Jeff (Green) and (DeAndre Jordan) made him shoot tough shots all night. You’ve got to live with those. He’s such a great player that he’s going to keep them in the game with his passing and rebounding and shotmaking. I think overall we did a solid job. Duncan Robinson didn’t get as loose. I mean, he got a few late, but he didn’t get as loose. So, I think we followed the gameplan.”
HEAT ZONE
The Heat threw heavy doses of zone defense at the Nets on Saturday, with little effect. Brooklyn — averaging 120.3 points per game for the season and now 124.6 in five games since James Harden’s arrival — put up 128 points while shooting 53.7 percent. The Heat showed 2-3, 3-2, and even extended their defense into the backcourt for some 2-2-1 press looks.
“That zone, it's not something you face every day,” said Steve Nash. “So, trying to figure it out and stay calm, stay poised, play principles more so than sets.”
The Nets also made 19-of-37 3-pointers (51.4 percent) with Joe Harris tying his career-high with seven makes on 12 attempts while scoring 23 points. Jeff Green, now shooting 51.9 percent from deep, made 3-of-4.
“I think sometimes it just happens in the flow of the game,” said Harris, who made six threes and scored 20 points by halftime. “A lot of my shots were early on where they were playing zone guys were getting into the gaps. We struggled against the zone against Cleveland and it was noticeably better tonight where we were denting it, getting in the paint, making simple plays where it's a lot of kickouts that allowed me to get a lot of room and looks early on.”
SECOND UNIT
Brooklyn’s starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Joe Harris and DeAndre Jordan on Saturday was its 12th different starting group in 18 games. New starting groups also mean new second units and updated rotations overall.
Steve Nash said before the game that it’s something that can keep changing, even if only because circumstances will demand so. Jeff Green came off the bench again to pair with Reggie Perry in the frontcourt and give Brooklyn some more size with the second group, while James Harden and Joe Harris played extensive minutes with the reserves as Nash went nine deep with Bruce Brown and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot also in the mix.
“That second unit is just growing, trying to learn and figure it out and play together,” said Nash. “And they just struggled a little bit, and that's gonna happen sometimes. So they're capable; we’ve got to develop them. The alternative is to play our starters 40-plus minutes. So fortunately we had a little bit of a cushion, and although we lost the momentum and the lead thereabouts, we still were able to win the game and keep the minutes in a relatively acceptable zone. So that's part of our development. That's part of taking the long road here and not necessarily trying every night to wear our guys and not develop the second unit.”
DURANT FOR 30, AGAIN
With 31 points against the Heat on Saturday, Kevin Durant has now scored 30 or more points in seven of the 13 games in which he’s played. He’s also scored at least 25 points in his last 12. Durant is second in the league in scoring with 31.2 points per game, and shooting 53.8 percent overall and 47.5 percent from 3-point range. In Saturday’s game he moved up to 27th on the NBA’s all-time points list with 23,336.
“I feel like I’m getting more opportunities,” said Durant. “As each game goes on, coach is putting in more sets. Everybody plays with the pass here, so guys are going to get looks all game, especially if you play a lot of minutes. It’s on me to finish those shots, and I feel like I left a few shots on the table tonight that I’d like to make. But for the most part, I’m trying to be smart and efficient in my movements out there. I think I can definitely get better, but I’m moving in the right direction.”
ABOUT THE HEAT
Miami was without Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Avery Bradley in Saturday’s loss to Brooklyn, and all three are expected to be out for Monday’s game as well with reports that none made the trip to Brooklyn. So the Nets got a full dose of Bam Adebayo on Saturday. He put up 41 points and is leading the Heat with 20.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game on 61.7 percent shooting.