By Shara Talia Taylor
It was a slow start, but a triumphant win for the Brooklyn Nets last Saturday night as they took on the Boston Celtics in Round 1 Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs.
Ranked as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, the first half was uncharacteristic for the Nets, as stated by Head Coach Steve Nash. The Nets played lethargic, missed shots and turned the ball over. Brooklyn bounced back after halftime with better ball handle and effective defense as they defeated Boston 104-93 at the Barclays Center.
“We weren’t sharp offensively, but we found a way,” said Nash. “We were tough, physical defensively. We made our share of mistakes, but we covered it up with an intensity and will and held them to 40 points in the second half.”
He attributed the slow start to a “newness”, which he said partly was a lack of familiarity of the starting five playing together and also the excitement of the new atmosphere with fans. The arena welcomed fans with the ease of COVID-19 restrictions. “Some of it was shot making,” Nash said. “Some of it was cohesion. Some of it was just, I think, first time out in the playoffs with fans.”
James Harden offered to cover half the ticket price for Nets fans in a tweet prior to the game, saying he wanted to get Barclays Center “rocking”. Following the game, he mentioned that the crowd noise may have affected his shooting in the beginning of the game, but he later became more comfortable. “The shots just didn’t go in,” he said. “I’m speaking for myself, but the crowd kind of just threw me off a little bit. It was pretty loud in there.”
Le Bilboquet Manager Apologizes to Atlanta Hawks Legend Dominique Wilkins After Racism Controversy
Harden joined Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, Blake Griffin, and Kyrie Irving in the starting lineup. Celtics led 53-47 at halftime. Nets came back in the second half, ending the third quarter ahead 78-73.
The Nets increased ball movement and started making shots in the second half. Durant and Irving both said the team became more settled. Durant led the Nets with 32 points, followed by Irving with 29 points and Harden with 21 total points for the game. The “Big 3” led the scoring efforts in the third and fourth quarters. “I think when one of our leaders set the precedence, sets the tone, then we follow suit,” Irving said.
He said Durant set the tone by attacking the rim. “We knew we had to respond,” Irving said about the Celtics lead at the beginning of the game. “We just had to combat that with getting stops.”
He said the Nets talked about it at halftime and came back and executed. “We tried to tell everybody to keep being aggressive and those shots are going to fall,” Durant said. “We was able to get stops and rebounds and not let them get too many extra possessions and I think when your energy is focused on the defense side of the ball it will start to turn for you.”
The Nets made 41.7% of their shots from the field compared to the Celtics 36.9%. Boston was more successful with 3-pointers and made 36.7% percent of their shots, while Brooklyn made 23.5% of their 3-point shots. The Celtics had 11 offensive rebounds and the Nets had 14, which Nash said is something to improve moving forward.
It was hopeful win for the Nets as they reflected on these changes. The series also seems promising considering the Nets defeated the Celtics several times this season. Game two was played Tuesday night before the series moves to Boston for the next two games.
