Inside how the Nets pulled out a big win over the Clippers: ‘We stayed the course’

BROOKLYN, NY - FEBRUARY 2: James Harden #13 and Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets hi-five during the game against the LA Clippers on February 2, 2021 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
By Alex Schiffer
Feb 3, 2021

With 4:37 left in the fourth quarter of the Nets’ Tuesday night game against the Clippers, Kyrie Irving pulled up from behind the arc and drilled a deep 3 to extend Brooklyn’s lead to five.

The next trip down, it was James Harden’s turn as he mirrored Irving’s move to hit his own deep stepback 3 to add to the Nets lead.

And not to be outdone, Kevin Durant followed with his own pullup jumper a minute later to put the Nets up six with three minutes remaining.

Simply put, the Clippers had no answer down the stretch for Brooklyn’s Big Three as the Nets beat Los Angeles 124-120. The Clippers came into the game with the league’s best record. Brooklyn’s star-studded trio combined for 90 points on 64.7 percent shooting (33-of-51). Irving had a game-high 39 points on 23 shots, while Durant had 28 points and nine rebounds on 11-for-13 shooting. For the fourth time in his nine-game tenure as a Net, Harden had a triple-double, this time of 23 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.

After a stunning loss to Washington, the Eastern Conference bottom-dweller, to start the week, Brooklyn reminded everyone of their potential and showed why star-power is so highly valued in the NBA, which is the bet GM Sean Marks made when he traded a bounty of draft picks and young up-and-coming players for Harden three weeks ago.

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Like the Nets, the Clippers came into the season with two star players in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, and a strong supporting cast around them in Nicolas Batum, Serge Ibaka, Lou Williams and Marcus Morris Sr. But instead of making further roster moves, they elected to keep their depth instead of chasing a third-star. On Tuesday, the Nets showed why their way has the potential to ultimately win out.

Although the Nets quickly fell into a 10-point deficit in the first quarter, they had something that it has lacked since the Harden trade: complete defensive buy-in from their marquee trio. Durant guarded Leonard for most of the game without any help and fought through screens to stay with him. When Durant wasn’t on Leonard, Harden guarded him in the post, and Irving, who said he “couldn’t guard a stick” against Washington, chased down George to block a shot in the third quarter. The effort from all three made it easier for the Nets to set a tone there, even though defense is still far from a strength.

“It’s got to be that way if we’re serious about this,” coach Steve Nash said. “We have the luxury of offensive talent but we have to defend. That’s a really difficult team to defend. They did a great job. Again, it’s tricky when the teams are constantly taking 20 more shots than you are, but we’ll keep playing and keep getting better. But when they put forth the effort like they did tonight we’ll be tough to beat.”

A timeout toward the end of the first half seemed to mark a turning point for the Nets. Morris had just hit a pair of 3s to help give the Clippers an 11-point lead. During the break, Harden and Jeff Green were seen having an intense discussion while Durant and Irving were conversing on the other side of the huddle.

Nash said his players were a lot more proactive in trying to solve their problems, rather than only letting the coaching staff direct them. Durant attributed the looks Morris got to the Nets overhelping defensively, a problem they’ve had all season. Durant said it was decided in the huddle to stop helping in order to contain the Clippers’ role players.

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“We just told ourselves, ‘Man up, make them shoot over the top, don’t help too much because this is the best 3-point shooting team in the league,’” Durant said. “But we stayed the course, and we controlled that iso a little bit and got out to the 3-point line and not give them wide-open 3s and I think that helped us.”

They pieced together a 12-2 run out of the timeout to go into halftime trailing by one.

The victory was another example of the Nets’ ability to get up against contenders or likely playoff teams and goes in the pile with their wins over Denver, Boston, Milwaukee, Golden State, Philadelphia and Utah. Irving said after the game that the team talked in the locker room about bringing the same approach to every game and not just showing up when a good team comes into town. The recent loss to the Wizards was the sixth time this season Brooklyn fell to a team with a losing record, prompting Nash to acknowledge that his team played down to bad opponents and that it could no longer be ignored. But it appears there’s a newfound urgency to stop Brooklyn’s string of bad losses.

“Every game it means a lot to us,” Irving said. “We’ve just got to come out and show it. I feel like tonight it was easy to go out and do that. After the game, we talked as a team about collectively coming together against teams that may not have the record that shows it and we’re playing to their level or we’re not playing to exceed the effort that’s needed. So we just want to continue to make consistent habits of just playing the right way every single game.”

“We have to come out and not embarrass ourselves and we played like that on both ends of the ball,” Harden added. “I don’t think as a team we have that mindset every single game. Once we get that you’re going to see a different Nets team.”

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Although the Nets had buy-in from their franchise players defensively, there is still plenty of work to do. The Clippers scored 120 points, and Brooklyn nearly blew a 10-point lead in the final 1:55 despite all three stars scoring. The Nets are ranked No. 25 in defensive rating and are giving up an average of 113 points per game. Only three NBA teams have won a title with a defense outside the top 10, and Durant starred on the most recent one, the 2018 Warriors. (The other two were the 1995 Rockets and 2001 Lakers.) Historically, the numbers aren’t on the Nets’ side if they can’t improve on that end of the floor.

Brooklyn struggled against Leonard, who scored 33 points on 50 percent shooting and routinely capitalized when Irving was switched onto him, as the 6-foot-2 guard toiled against Leonard’s 6-7 frame and physicality. The Clippers shot 41.7 percent from 3, but Durant said he thinks the Nets could have taken away five of their 15 3s if they defended better. Brooklyn’s defense won by getting enough stops, but Durant dismissed the notion that the Nets could get by with being just good enough rather than elite. Irving acknowledged the craziness to the Wizards’ late rally and said the Clippers also hit tough shots, but pointed out that the Nets had the most games in January and haven’t been able to practice much. They’re doing the best they can on the fly. But he added Brooklyn can’t continue to sweat out games like it has been. If the Nets want to embark on a deep playoff run, they have to learn how to close.

“That’s the big thing,” Irving said. “That’s the phrase. Finish the games. We’re up by 10, we’re up by eight, we’re up five with a minute to go. Finish the game.”

Brooklyn’s late-game execution took a step forward against L.A. Nash played it straight and had the Nets foul late in the game instead of taking his chances, like he did when Colin Sexton sent the Nets to double-overtime and ultimately spoiled the Big Three’s debut.

In need of a late basket, the Hall of Fame point guard had a key coaching assist, telling Green to streak down the court with 7.1 seconds left while Leonard was shooting free throws. The result was the Clippers forgetting about Green, which allowed Harden to throw him a full-court pass, which Green converted for a layup while getting fouled.

Brooklyn’s stars combined for 29 of their 90 points in the fourth quarter and took turns deferring to one another instead of having one dominate a particular sequence. Clippers coach Ty Lue said before the game that his players had to stay in one-on-one coverage and pick their spots with double-teams and traps because taking away one star only benefited the other two. When Brooklyn needed baskets on key possessions down the line, it was Irving, Harden or Durant beating their man in isolation, which froze the Clippers defense, but also by playing off of each other and not having one star be the hero. That’s when the Nets are at their most dangerous.

“You’ve got guys who can do multiple things on the floor late in the game,” Durant said. “Any coach in America wants the ball in their best players’ hands, and I think we’ve got three guys that are unselfish, that know how to play and I think we made the right plays down the stretch, especially Kyrie and James controlling the ball. I feel like, when those guys got it out top, they have the defense at their mercy. We’ve got to continue to be on the same page late in the games.”

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Throughout the season, Brooklyn has been transparent about its problems, whether it’s defense, playing down to opponents, or simply not being on the same page on a certain possession or sequence. But this win showed a legitimate effort to address those issues, despite the limitations of the season and the fact that the group has been together for just three weeks.

The Nets look like they’re in a groove offensively. They know they need to get in one defensively. Harden said the Nets understand that playing a bunch of close games isn’t sustainable if they want to make a championship run. At some point, they need to start taking teams out of games long before the final buzzer.

“Once we get that down pat eventually you’re talking about blowing teams out,” Harden said. “Because offensively we got it. And we’ll figure it out. We’ll continue to figure it out. Defensively, we have to figure it out. That’s what it has to be for us to be playing at the end.”

(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)

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