Again.

A host of United States favorites have failed to come through in these Tokyo Olympics, but the men’s basketball team dismissed the upset trend. Durant scored a game-high 29 points Saturday to lead the Americans to an 87-82 victory over France in Saitama, Japan, avenging an opening loss in these Games and giving the U.S. a fourth consecutive gold medal.

The Nets star celebrated with a huge American flag draped around his shoulders, the same shoulders that had carried Team USA.

It’s the first time the U.S. men have won four straight gold medals since they reeled off seven in a row back in the 1950s and 1960s. With opposing rosters now littered with NBA players, the competition is better than it used to be. But not better than Durant and company.

Durant — who agreed to a four-year, $198 million contract extension with the Nets hours earlier — led the way. He is Team’s USA’s all-time Olympic scorer, and his third gold medal tied him with Carmelo Anthony for the most in program history.

“It’s winning time,” Durant said in a TV interview

After pouring in 30 points apiece in the gold-medal games in London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016), Durant was just as good against France. Getting into his pull-up game, he couldn’t be guarded.

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum scored 19 points. And while no one else scored more than the 11 tallied by Damain Lillard and Jrue Holiday, it didn’t matter. The perimeter defense served that role.

In the Group A opener against France on July 25, Team USA had led by seven points with just 3:41 left. But their defense collapsed and France stormed back, closing on a 16-2 run, to hand the U.S. a humbling 83-76 upset loss.

But unlike the women’s soccer team, which was shockingly relegated to a bronze medal, or the men’s 4×100 relay team, which couldn’t even get out of the heats, coach Gregg Popovich’s squad defended its way to the top of the medal stand.

Lessons were clearly learned from that opening loss. Team USA ripped off five straight wins, drilling Iran by 54 points, Czech Republic by 35 points, powerful Spain by 14 points and tough Australia by 19 points.

In the final, Team USA had nine steals and forced 18 French turnovers.

France tried to play through the Jazz’s star center, Rudy Gobert, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. Incoming Knicks signee Evan Fournier added 16 and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot — who played with Durant last season in Brooklyn — added 11.

But Fournier shot just 5-for-15, harassed by the U.S. backcourt.

Team USA led by 13 points in the first half, and after a 16-5 French run that spanned intermission to see their lead cut to a deuce, settled in. Durant hit a pull-up off a great screen by Bam Adebayo to cap seven unanswered points and open the lead back up to 56-45 with 6:25 left in the third.

The cushion got up to a game-high 14 before France mounted one last rally. Knicks free agent Frank Ntilikina, scoreless in limited duty until the waning moments, got on the board with a 3-pointer that cut it to 73-70 with 5:44 left. But three straight Team USA buckets padded it to 79-70, on a Lillard shot from the corner, and the Americans were never in any danger the rest of the way.

It was 85-82 with 10.2 seconds remaining after a pair of Nando de Colo free throws.

But Popovich dispatched Draymond Green deep, and when two defenders went with him, it was fittingly Durant who doubled back to take the inbound pass and get fouled. An 88-percent free throw shooter, he calmly sank both with 8.8 seconds left to push the lead to five and essentially ice it.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

The Nets superstar will sign a four-year, $198 million extension with the Nets on Friday. The deal was confirmed by Durant’s longtime business partner Rich Kleiman on Boardroom, the platform they run under ThirtyFive Ventures.

Brooklyn’s entire Big 3 – Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving – are all eligible for long-term extensions. General manager Sean Marks has been open about his intent to re-sign the entire trio, and Nets owner Joe Tsai’s willingness to pay the staggering luxury tax bill required.

The 32-year-old Durant’s new extension will bring him past half a billion dollars in career NBA earnings, not even including his investments. He’ll decline his already-existing player option for the 2022-23 season, and will instead tack on four more years starting after this upcoming campaign.

In his first season coming off a June 2019 ruptured Achilles, Durant averaged 26.9 points, 7.1 boards and 5.6 assists, shooting career-highs of 53.7 % overall and 45% from deep.

Durant’s playoff run was one for the ages, averaging 34.3 points and 9.3 rebounds. He had a 49-point second-round Game 5 against Milwaukee, and nearly lifted Brooklyn to a Game 7 win over the eventual champs. He’s currently in Tokyo leading Team USA in the Olympic gold medal game.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

The move was first reported on ESPN, and confirmed by The Post.

Irving had just signed with Roc Nation in 2019, as he was preparing to bolt Boston for Brooklyn in free agency. The All-Star point guard has now gone through his second agency in three years.

It’s unclear why Irving is parting with Roc Nation. The agency will only have 10 days — or about a week-and-a-half — to attempt to salvage its working relationship with Irving.

The star guard is halfway through a four-year max contract with the Nets, although he can opt out after this upcoming season.

Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks is expected to attempt to extend Irving, as well as Kevin Durant and James Harden, with free agency tipping off Monday at 6 p.m.

Irving also has off-court deals as well, including an $11 million contract with Nike that is one of the biggest sneaker deals in the NBA. But after photos leaked of the upcoming Kyrie8, Irving ripped into Nike on Instagram and said the company put out the shoe without his permission or consultation.

“I have nothing to do with the design or marketing of the upcoming Kyrie 8 IMO these are trash! I have absolutely nothing to do with them!” Irving said.

“Nike plans to release it without my okay regardless of what I say, so I apologize in advance to all of my sneaker heads and true supporters of the #KAI11 brand.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

The news was first reported by The Athletic, and a league source confirmed the multi-year extension to The Post. The team is not expected to make any statement.

Perry was a holdover from the prior regime, with Steve Mills having actually pried him away from Sacramento back in 2017. Perry signed forward Julius Randle – who won NBA Most Improved Player and developed into an All-Star this season – as well as drafted center Mitchell Robinson and signed Bobby Portis.

But when Mills was relieved of his duties, team president Leon Rose and executive vice president/senior adviser William Wesley kept Perry on as GM.

“Scott worked very well with Leon and Wes,” a league source told The Post. “[They] have a very talented and experienced front office, and he’s a valuable piece of it.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

Booker carried his Suns to a 118-108 win over Milwaukee in Game 2 of the NBA Finals — and halfway to the first championship in their title-less 53-year history.

“We had the lead going into the fourth quarter, a 10-point lead. And we wanted to hold that,” Booker said in an on-court TV interview. “We wanted to defend that at all cost.”

They took a 2-0 series lead Thursday night before a raucous sellout crowd of 16,583 fans at Phoenix Suns Arena. And they did it thanks to a sublime 23 points and eight assists from veteran guard Chris Paul, a surprising career-playoff-high 27 from Mikal Bridges, and a super night from Booker.

The rising Suns star poured in a team-high 31 points, six assists and five rebounds in a marathon 44-minute performance.

Booker once got a pair of KOBE XI PEs from Bryant five years ago, and wrote “Be Legendary” on them. Booker actually got a tattoo of the same message and is rapidly living up to that.

“We’re on this pursuit to do what we set out to do, and we are here now,” Booker said. “It’s kind of hard to reflect on what you’re doing when you’re in the moment. Our main focus right now is to win those four basketball games and that’s pretty much it.”

Make that two games now, after the Suns survived a monster 42-point night from two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. They held Jrue Holiday to just 7-of-21 shooting and the Bucks to 9-of-31 from deep.

Phoenix turned every defensive stop into either a fastbreak or early offense. And even when they got into the halfcourt, the Suns carved up Milwaukee’s over-helping defense with 26 assists and 20-of-40 shooting from behind the arc.

They turned their pace into a weapon.

“It’s huge,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “Before we can get the ball, we got to make sure we box out and limit those guys to one shot. That’s been a huge part of our game plan, and it’s the same for Milwaukee. Chris did a really good job of trying to keep [P.J.] Tucker and [Pat] Connaughton off the glass. Those guys are bulldogs going to the boards. So once we get it, we want to get it down the floor quickly.”

Phoenix fell behind right out of the gate, 21-12 on a Tucker putback with 5:05 left in the first quarter. But the Suns quickly shot their way out of that.

Still trailing 32-28 after Tucker hit Bryn Forbes for a 3-pointer, Phoenix reeled off an 11-3 spurt, capped by a Deandre Ayton dunk to take a four-point edge.

And with the score tied at 41-all, the Suns put together a 15-4 run to seize a lead they never surrendered the rest of the evening. And they closed it with a highlight sequence that perfectly encapsulated their entire night.

A brilliant 10-pass possession started with Paul in transition and ended with Bridges finding Ayton for an and-one with 14.9 seconds left in the half. It sent Phoenix into the locker room with a 56-45 lead that proved more than enough.

Phoenix had been a perfect 12-0 this postseason with double-digit leads. They made it a baker’s dozen after Thursday night.

The cushion got padded to 65-50 in the third quarter on a Bridges dunk, and the Suns held Milwaukee’s inevitable rally at arm’s length.

Antetokounmpo lead a Bucks rally almost single-handedly, pouring in 20 points in the third quarter alone. And when Holiday found Brook Lopez running the floor for a layup, that cut it to 93-88 with 8:45 remaining.

But Antetokounpo subbed out just six seconds later — on the bench, having his shoe taken off — and the Suns pounced at the opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and Milwaukee. An Ayton layup and Booker 3 sandwiched around a missed Holiday layup padded it back to 98-88 and sent Milwaukee into a timeout.

Another Booker 3 stretched it to 13, and it never got close again.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

The world-famous Beard may get love from the Parisian paparazzi, but apparently not from the cops.

Just a day after Harden and pal/business partner Lil’ Baby were comically swarmed by photographers at the annual Paris Fashion Week, the Nets star was stopped by police and frisked on Avenue Montaigne.

Video of the incident surfaced on Twitter. Harden – wearing a brown hoodie and sweats – can be seen being patted down, holding his phone in his right hand as his pockets are searched. The Brooklyn star can be heard telling police “It’s OK. I don’t understand.”

Perhaps Harden should’ve brought French teammate Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot with him, or Nets stash Isaia Cordinier.

A Nets source said nothing significant came of the encounter.

It’s been an eventful Fashion Week for Harden.

Right after the Nets’ tough Game 7 loss to Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Harden had initially committed to playing for Team USA in the Olympics. But with a Grade 2 hamstring strain having essentially sidelined him for the first four games of that second-round series, the All-Star guard reversed course and pulled out of Team USA.

So with Team USA camp opening this week in Las Vegas, Harden jetted across the Atlantic to France. Harden and Lil Baby – on whose album “Voice of Heroes” Harden serves as an executive producer, and who regularly attended Nets games at Barclays Center – were welcomed by a crush of paparazzi that yelled both of their names and caught them hilariously off guard.

One wonders what the next meme or viral video Harden’s French trip will produce.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

It will give the pair a chance to be coached by Erik Spoelstra, scrimmage with the Olympic squad in their Las Vegas training camp and have a clear pathway to the national team pool if they continue to progress.

In short, it’s a golden opportunity.

“It’s an honor to be selected for the USA Select Team,” Toppin said in a video shared by the Knicks. “It’s an opportunity for me to get out to Vegas and play against the best players in the world — guys like [Kevin Durant], Khris Middleton, Kevin Love, Dame Lillard. … Can’t wait to get out there and help them prepare to go to Tokyo and win the gold medal.”

After being drafted eighth overall out of Dayton, Toppin recovered somewhat from a disappointing rookie regular season by raising his production in the playoffs. The power forward averaged just 4.1 points in 11 minutes during the season, but upped that to 6.4 points in 13 minutes during a first-round playoff loss to the Hawks.

Quickley was an early surprise, flying under the radar as the No. 25-overall pick to average 11.4 points in 19.4 minutes and make the All-Rookie second team. The point guard’s production did plummet to just 5.8 points in 15.4 minutes per playoff game, but he said he is going to relish the opportunity to scrimmage against Team USA’s elite guards, such as Lillard and Jrue Holiday.

“Truly a blessing and an honor to be invited to the USA Select Team in Vegas,” Quickley said in the same video, which was shared on Twitter. “Helping those guys compete for a gold medal in Tokyo, it’s going to be a truly a great experience for me.

“Just to go against the greatest players in the world, Dame, Jrue Holiday, some of those guys. Looking forward to improve my game competing against the best and just helping USA get better. So, great to be part of the USA family.”

The Knicks duo joins a roster of 13 young NBA players and four veterans who will train daily with the USA National Team from July 6-9 at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center. They’ll have an eye toward getting Team USA ready for the Tokyo Olympics — or even getting a shot to fill in themselves on Team USA, if needed, for any exhibition games.

“This USA Select Team continues the legacy established by previous Select teams of helping prepare our USA National Team for the Tokyo Olympic Games,” said USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director Jerry Colangelo.

“With all the uncertainty of how many of our Olympic Team members will be available for the USA training camp because of the overlap with the NBA Finals, we chose a USA Select Team consisting of many of the top young NBA players and four players who not only own international experience, but who played recently for USA Basketball in important national team qualifying competitions.

“If we need to add players to fill out our roster for any of our exhibition games, we feel this USA Select Team has an excellent variety of skilled players to choose from.”

The remaining members of the Select Team are: Saddiq Bey (Pistons/Villanova), Miles Bridges (Hornets/Michigan State), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves/Georgia), Darius Garland(Cavaliers/Vanderbilt), Tyrese Haliburton (Kings/Iowa State), Tyler Herro (Heat/Kentucky), John Jenkins (Bilbao Basket, Italy/Vanderbilt), Keldon Johnson (Spurs/Kentucky), Josh Magette (Darüssafaka Tekfen, Turkey/Alabama-Huntsville), Dakota Mathias (76ers/Purdue), Naz Reid (Timberwolves/LSU), Cam Reynolds (Rockets/Tulane), Isaiah Stewart (Pistons/Washington), P.J. Washington (Hornets/Kentucky) and Patrick Williams (Bulls/Florida State).

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

“I don’t really even know,” Kevin Durant said after Saturday’s Game 7 ouster. “I wasn’t even planning on losing — so I don’t know how I’m going to feel. I’m always thinking about our team and how we can get better and what we can do individually. I want to take a few days off. I don’t know man, s- -t — I don’t know.”

The Nets came into the playoffs as title favorites, but exited in the second round with James Harden hamstrung and Kyrie Irving out with a sprained ankle.

Injuries limited the Big 3 to just 202 minutes together in the regular-season and 130 more in the postseason. A top priority for next season will be getting them healthy — and getting them extended and surrounded by the right supporting cast.

“Of course we try to improve every single year. That’s the goal,” said Harden. “We never want to stay the same. We try to improve, try to get better and keep getting better.

“If we’re not injured, and me and Ky are on the floor, [this season] is a totally different conversation. … Just got to try to stay healthy. I’m sure the front office and the top guys will try to bring in more players around me, KD and Ky and continue to improve.”

Durant acknowledged continuity is important, since “GMs, owners, they move players all the time.” But he and Harden both sounded like men intent on building long-term.

The Nets can only hope so.

“You talk to Steve [Nash], you talk to other people, there are a lot of us, especially me, hoping that I’ll be around for a while,” Joe Harris said. “This thing is far from over.”

That will require maneuvering from GM Sean Marks, and money from owner Joe Tsai. Neither have been lacking in those departments.

Brooklyn has a projected $53.4 million tax bill according to ex-Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, now with ESPN. But Tsai is worth $13 billion, and has shown no fear of spending when it comes to building a contender.

Priority No. 1 (and likely Nos. 2 and 3 as well) for extending his team’s window will be opening negotiations on four-year extensions for the Big 3 that would kick in after next season.

Harden can sign a deal that maxes out at a staggering $252.8 million. Durant’s would top out at $234.5 million, Irving’s at $217.0 million.

The Nets can open negotiations with the trio on Aug. 6, as well as Nic Claxton and Landry Shamet, whose rookie deal expires after next season.

Even before that, Marks has to make calls on nine free agents starting in August: Bruce Brown, Chris Chiozza, Jeff Green, Blake Griffin, Mike James, Tyler Johnson, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Reggie Perry. Brown, Chiozza and James are all restricted.

Spencer Dinwiddie said last month he’ll decline his $12 million player option for next year. A sign-and-trade could be in the cards, but that could double the Nets’ tax bill. And there are calls to make on whether to buy out DeAndre Jordan’s contract, or guarantee Alize Johnson’s.

Griffin and Green are both big men in their 30s, but the former is set to make $29.8 million from his Detroit buyout no matter what the Nets (or anybody else) pay him, while the latter is on his fourth straight veteran minimum. Brown could reportedly earn up to $9 million in free agency.

“I hope I’m here. I know my contract is up, but I hope I’m staying in Brooklyn,” Brown said. “I love playing with these guys: They made me better this year. I worked on a lot of things. I’ve got a lot to work on this summer and I’ll get better. But I hope I’m here for sure.”

Like the movies, locking up the stars long-term is the first step toward success, and then putting together the right supporting cast the next. The story will be the same for the Nets.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

After a season filled with injuries and absences, the Nets’ postseason ended the same way Saturday night at Barclays Center. With Kyrie Irving watching from the bench in street clothes, the Nets suffered a late collapse against the Bucks and lost 115-111 in overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Nets shot 1-for-12 in the overtime as their season died with the sound of a clank off the rim. The last miss was Kevin Durant’s heave with 0.3 seconds left.

The super-team assembled to go to — and even win — the NBA Finals got knocked out in the second round. The Nets suffered their first and only home defeat of these playoffs despite yet another master class from Durant (48 points, nine rebounds, six assists), his third 40-point eruption of the playoffs.

Durant’s 23-foot heave in the final seconds of regulation tied the game and forced overtime. But after Bruce Brown (14 points, six boards) scored seconds into overtime for a 111-109 advantage, the Nets didn’t get another point. The Bucks scored six — a hook from Giannis Antetokounmpo with 1:12 remaining, a fadeaway from Khris Middleton with 40 seconds left and two meaningless free throws by Brook Lopez — to win it.

The sellout crowd of 16,287 — including the likes of Eli Manning, Mark Messier, Robert Saleh, H.E.R and a host of Yankees — left disappointed. The Bucks moved on to the Eastern Conference finals, beginning Wednesday, against either the Hawks or the 76ers. The Nets are on to the offseason, left to wonder how this went so wrong and how they wasted another superhuman outing from Durant.

“Well, it’s great obviously to be with a guy who has been there before. He has all the ability in the world. But this isn’t Kevin’s game to win: It’s ours as a team,” Nets coach Steve Nash warned beforehand.

“We have to play a great team game at both ends of the floor. If Kevin has a special night, great. But if Kevin has a Kevin night, we’ve got to find a way for our team to put ourselves in a position to win.”

Antetokounmpo finished with 40 points, 13 boards and the huge OT bucket.

James Harden had 22 points, nine boards and nine assists. Blake Griffin fouled out after a double-double of 17 points and 11 boards.

It was knotted at 86-all in the fourth quarter when Joe Harris untied it on a 3-pointer that bounced up and in.

Clinging to a 91-90 edge, the Nets forced a Jrue Holiday miss — he was 2-for-17 to that point — before Harden hit Brown for a layup. And when Brown stole the ball from Middleton (23 points), he got it to Harden who found Durant upcourt for a dunk and-one.

The Nets led 101-96 with four minutes left after a Harden pull-up bank 3-pointer, but then coughed up an 8-0 run. A Holiday 3-pointer left the Nets in a 104-101 hole.

Down two with a chance to tie, Durant turned the ball over and Harden committed a foul. Middleton sank two at the line to leave the Nets trailing 109-105 with 1:05 to play.

But Durant hit a seven-foot pull-up to halve the lead with 42 seconds remaining. And when the Nets forced a shot-clock violation, they had one last chance with six seconds left in regulation. Durant’s 23-foot turnaround heave with one second left and Tucker draped all over him knotted it and forced overtime.

Brown’s offensive rebound and score opened the overtime period. After the Nets forced the Bucks into shooting 0-for-3 with two turnovers in the opening minutes of OT, Durant gave up his body to prevent a basket and tie up a driving Brook Lopez.

Antetokounmpo posted up Durant and knotted it on a hook, and after Harris missed a 3-point attempt, Middleton’s turnaround fadeaway left the Nets down 113-111 with 40.1 seconds left in overtime.

Durant missed a fadeaway, but when Milwaukee missed too, he snatched the rebound. The Nets had one final shot in their season, and Durant took it — and missed it with 0.3 seconds left.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

He says Kevin Durant won’t let it go down any other way.

“I believe you guys have seen throughout his career what he’s capable of and what he’s done throughout the playoffs and just through his career,” Green said before the 8:30 p.m. game at Barclays Center (TNT). “I don’t think you need my viewpoint of how I see it. You see it yourself.

“The guy has been incredible. He’s been carrying us, and I believe (Game 7) won’t be different. He’s going to go out there, he’s going to play his heart out, put us on his back and lead us to the win.”

It’s not exactly Joe Namath or Mark Messier, but the Nets will have to defeat the Bucks without Irving (sprained ankle) and despite a limited Harden (hamstring) to keep their playoff run alive.

So that means the pressure is on Durant, who backed up his 49-point triple-double in Game 5 with 32 points and 11 rebounds in the Game 6 loss Thursday.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

Durant’s 48-minute, 49-point triple-double showed why he’s arguably the best player on the planet. And showed why the Knicks were so desperate to get him that they met with his father before 2019 free agency to try to convince him to sign.

But the Nets won the day two years ago this month, when they landed Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan in free agency. And thanks to Durant, they came into Thursday’s Game 6 just a win away from being in the conference final.

“He’s the reason we won,” Jeff Green said. “He put us on his back and he carried us.”

The seeds for that Game 5 victory were sown 2 ½ years ago, when Durant decided to leave Golden State and come to Brooklyn. His mother Wanda told The Post her son needed a change from the Warriors.

“It was just a choice,” Wanda told The Post. “It was an option, it was there, and he decided he wanted something different.”

Excerpts from author Matt Sullivan’s newly published book, “Can’t Knock the Hustle” peeled back the layers on how Durant went from leaving the Warriors to joining the Nets.

With Durant still playing for Golden State and Irving for the Celtics, a Warriors road trip brought them through Boston. The night before Durant led his team to a Jan. 26 win, he had dinner at Irving’s Weston (Mass.) mansion.

Irving was already intent on getting out of Boston, and that night over some wine and a vegan meal, the next NBA superteam was formulated.

As Sullivan detailed:

KD would follow Kyrie’s lead. That night in the suburbs, he even ate a vegan burger for the first time. “I could f— with this,” he said. A super-team was starting to be formed, over a side of kale salad and… clink.

KD and Kyrie went upstairs to the playroom, shared a vegan smoothie, shot a Nerf ball into a toy hoop and played NBA2K. Controlling miniature versions of themselves and their teammates, like marionettes, they wondered how else they could string together a team that was going somewhere. “And from that point,” Kyrie said, “we took the power back and put it in our hands.”

It’s been well-documented that Durant, Irving and Jordan had talked about playing together as far back as the 2016 Olympics.

But this is where the Nets came into focus — despite the Knicks’ best efforts, and some borderline tampering.

When Durant texted his sometimes-estranged father to ask him his thoughts on Brooklyn, Wayne Pratt told his son about a video meeting he’d had with Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry. As Sullivan detailed, Durant wasn’t happy with the meddling and “did not want his pops f—ing with the plan.”

And that plan was Brooklyn, despite his Knick-fan father’s prodding, according to Sullivan:

The Knicks is Mecca, KD’s dad proclaimed. If you want to do it, do it big! If you want to be a New Yorker, be a Knick!

New York City was the Mecca of basketball, and KD wanted to live there. But he felt like Brooklyn was his vibe: “chill, on the low, all-black everything.” He’d been eyeing the Nets for years now, and they him.

It was a long engagement, the Nets having to wait an entire year — really, a year and a half — for Durant to recover from his ruptured Achilles. And there were bumps in the road: missing more time this season due to calf and hamstring injuries and COVID-19 protocols. But these playoffs are why Brooklyn gladly gave him $164 million.

Irving went down with a sprained ankle in Game 4, and hamstrung James Harden had played just 43 seconds in this series until Game 5. But Durant led the way.

With Tuesday’s historic performance, Durant had the Nets a step from the conference final. But it was the latest step in a long journey, one that started years ago over veggies and vino, and they hope ends in victory.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

The Nets’ All-Star guard won his race to return from a hamstring injury just in time for Tuesday’s pivotal Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

With Brooklyn’s season teetering on the brink — having lost two games in Milwaukee, and Kyrie Irving to an ankle injury — Harden was acutely aware of how much his team needed him. Out as of Monday night’s injury report, he was upgraded to doubtful in late morning, to questionable and finally to starting.

Harden hadn’t played since getting hurt just 43 seconds into the June 5 series opener, suffering right hamstring tightness. But Irving’s absence and the Nets’ desperation to salvage their title hopes had Harden pushing and prodding to play.

“Yeah, that’s what’s driving James here,” coach Steve Nash said. “He wants to play, he wants to win a championship. He loves the playoffs and the ability to play this time of year. So I think it’s been really difficult on him [with] how much he cares, how much time he puts in, how much effort he’s put in to get to this position. That’s definitely the source of his motivation right now and I understand and respect it.

“James is driving this. We have to support him the best way we can, and be an aid for him to figure this out. But it’s a tricky situation, but one that we’re willing to go down with James. He’s just been unbelievable for us this year and we want to support him and see if he can do it. And if he can’t, he can’t. But if he can, we want to support him in his wish to play and to try to help his teammates.”

Harden knew how much his teammates needed that help against Milwaukee.

The Nets won the first two games without him at home, but proceeded to drop the next two at Fiserv Forum to see the Bucks level the series and steal the momentum. They also lost Irving to a sprained ankle, leaving them without Harden, Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie. In dire need of a point guard — and a victory — Harden worked feverishly to get back on the floor.

“I’m not sure the level of risk; it’s not my expertise,” Nash said. “I think it is James’ decision. He’s been pushing. He wants to play. But he’s got to go through his pregame routine and see if he’s able. But ultimately it’ll be James’ decision and [we] support him.”

Harden trained hard Monday morning upon the Nets’ return to Brooklyn, although was kept designated as out. Then he worked his hamstring again in Tuesday morning’s shootaround and showed enough improvement to get upgraded.

After coming through pregame warm-ups unscathed, he had enough evidence to plead his case and got the performance team to clear him.

For exactly what kind of role and precisely how many minutes was unclear. But his leadership, court vision, calming influence and floor generalship would be key even if he was under a significant restriction.

“We have our ideas. I’m not going to express what they are, because nothing is set in stone yet,” Nash said. “But we definitely have discussed and thought of the different realities, so to speak, and we’ll lean deeper into whatever plan presents itself.”

Harden missed 18 straight games with a strained right hamstring near the end of the regular season. He got hurt again less than a minute into Game 1 against the Bucks and hadn’t played since — until Tuesday.

It’s hard to overstate how important Harden is to Brooklyn, especially without Irving. The Nets are 34-8 when he starts, including a 5-1 mark in the playoffs. Without him? They’re just 20-19, including 1-2 in the postseason.

“I don’t think they’d throw that out there if his health was still in question. That’s the biggest thing at the end of the day that guys are healthy,” Joe Harris said. “You don’t ever want to put anybody in a compromised position because the worst thing that could happen is come back too early and then you start back over from where you were at in the beginning.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

“I don’t know if (he’s out) or not. I might have to wait,” Nets coach Steve Nash had said Monday. “He’s working out, so I have no idea if that means he has a chance for (Game 5) or not. I think there’s a plan behind the scenes that I don’t totally know what the deal is and then they’ll give us an update. But he’s working out.”

Harden went down just 43 seconds into this second-round series with what has been deemed right hamstring tightness. The Nets won the first two games without him at Barclays Center, but proceeded to drop the next two in Milwaukee to see the Bucks level the series and steal the momentum.

Brooklyn also lost Kyrie Irving to a sprained ankle, leaving them without Harden, Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie. In dire need of a point guard – and a victory – Harden was doing on-court work Monday in hopes of being able to return.

“We’ll see,” Nash said. “We’ll see how he does with his workouts and how he progresses. I’ve tried to leave him alone as far as that goes, let him rehab. He’s still a big part of our team in meetings and when we travel and all that stuff. He’s just been great. I just want to let him do his work and focus on that. When he’s ready, he or the performance staff will let us know.”

Harden missed 18 straight games with a strained right hamstring near the end of the regular season. He got hurt again in the first minute of the series opener on June 5.

“I think it’s positive,” Nets forward Joe Harris said of Harden being upgraded. “I don’t think they would throw that out there if his health was still in question. That’s the biggest thing at the end of the day that guys are healthy.

“You don’t ever want to put anybody in a compromised position because the worst thing that could happen is come back to early and then you start back over from where you were at in the beginning.”

Nash has described the All-Star guard as “progressing in the right direction,” and although he struggled to define what that progress was, did say that Harden had to string together consecutive days of high-intensity practice loads before being cleared.

“We hope…we feel like he’s been progressing really well and he’s having a workout,” said Nash.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

Irving left the game midway through the second quarter of the 107-96 Game 4 loss to the Bucks, and didn’t return. It’s unclear when he will, his right ankle now replacing James Harden’s right hamstring as the most-watched body part in the NBA.

“Ky, the X-rays were negative. But we will have to see how it goes [Monday] for further tests and treatment,” Steve Nash said. “Obviously, we lost a great player during the game which was tough.”

The Nets did not offer any clarity on the severity of the injury. Grade 1 strains can typically take a week or two to heal fully. Grade 2 or 3 would take longer. Irving was in a walking boot and using crutches, according to ESPN.

After winning the first two games in Brooklyn, the Nets now find the series knotted at 2-2 and will return to Barclays Center for Game 5 on Tuesday.

“I have no idea what is going to happen with Ky in the coming days,” Nash said. “We will cross our fingers and hope that it is better than … I don’t know. Better than what? Better than missing the next game?”

Irving went up for a layup with 6:04 left in the second quarter and landed awkwardly on the foot of Giannis Antetokounmpo. It was debatable whether the two-time MVP gave Irving sufficient room to land, but no foul was called.

“It’s just something that happens throughout basketball,” Jeff Green said. “It sucks that he had to go down.”

Irving went down immediately in severe discomfort. Play continued for 12 seconds before being halted. He was surrounded by teammates as staff attended to him, with the guard grimacing as they did. Irving was helped up and walked off the court under his own power and toward the locker room with a visible limp.

His availability — or lack thereof — could shift this series.

“You can never not acknowledge Irving’s a great player,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “The great players make everything harder for you. If Irving is there, he tests you.”

Harden has played only 43 seconds in this series and is still out despite the Nets’ claims the past few days that his tight right hamstring is making progress. Nash struggled to define exactly what that progress consists of.

“I’m not sure I can answer it,” Nash admitted. “I’m just going off of [asking] how’s James doing? ‘Good. It’s getting better.’ I asked him and he says he’s feeling better, doing better. I ask the staff, they say ‘Yeah, it’s getting better.’ So I don’t know if I can detail what that is fairly.

“But he is on the court. He’s doing some shooting, some movement, his rehab, and he’s progressing in the right direction. But I don’t know exactly what he’s capable of. He’s still in that area where he’s got a little gap to make up.”

When pressed on what benchmarks Harden has to clear, Nash said: “There’s a certain amount of continual high-intensity loads. When he’s able to get up to full speed and do it for two or three days without recurrence or setback, that’s the markers.”

Nash was clear the Irving injury would have no impact on the timetable for Harden’s return. He won’t be rushed back, or be allowed to rush himself back.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

After Irving went down with a sprained right ankle, the Nets lost 107-96 to the Bucks before a sellout crowd of 16,310 at Fiserv Forum — a defeat that could shift the momentum of the second-round series, and possibly the balance of the NBA championship.

The raucous crowd chanted “Bucks in six! Bucks in six!” with the Nets trailing by 15 in the fourth quarter. After the Nets have dropped consecutive games in this series — and have lost both Irving and James Harden (right hamstring) to injuries — who could blame them?

The Nets not only had been the heavy betting favorites to win the title, but they also looked poised to run away with these conference semis after routing the Bucks by 39 points in Game 2 at Barclays Center. Now, however, they’re injury-riddled and locked in a 2-2 tie in the best-of-seven series.

The Bucks have health and the momentum, with two-thirds of the Nets’ Big 3 now in street clothes. Harden has been out with the hamstring injury he suffered just 43 seconds into this series.

Kevin Durant did his share Sunday, with a team-high 28 points and 13 rebounds. But no other Net cracked double-digits, except for Irving, who left with 11 points after spraining his right ankle with 6:04 left in the second quarter.

When Irving went down — after landing awkwardly on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot following a layup — he’d just cut the Nets’ deficit to 44-40. After the injury, the stunned Nets immediately coughed up a 22-10 run that the second and third quarters and put the game out of reach — and delivered the series momentum into the Bucks’ hands.

Antetokounmpo finished with a game-high 34 points and added 12 boards, while Khris Middleton scored 19 points.

“I think we have to be ready for their first hit,” Nets coach Steve Nash warned beforehand. “They’re gonna come out at home and be aggressive. They need this game. And for us, we just have to come out with the right intensity and approach and try to hit them as equally as they hit us to start the game.

“It’s just about getting into the game as quickly as possible. And we struggled with that, couldn’t find a rhythm or our best level in that first quarter, and it just took too long. So hopefully it’s right from the gate. But if it’s not, can we find it quickly and recover and play well relatively early.”

Nash’s Nets did all that, jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead.

It went back-and-forth after that in the first half, in a manner befitting a high-level playoff game. The Nets were within striking distance at 56-50 with 10:03 left in the third when Durant passed to Jeff Green for a 7-foot driving hook shot. Green had just returned from his own plantar fascia injury, and was playing for the first time since May 25.

But right after Green’s bucket, the Nets coughed up 10 unanswered points to lose contact.

The Nets went ice-cold. They missed six straight shots and Mike James committed a turnover. That got Antetokounmpo and the Bucks out on the break. They hit five-of-six in that run, with a driving layup by Jrue Holiday (14 points, nine assists) making it 66-50.

The clock read 6:50 left in the third quarter, but the contest was essentially over. In Game 3, the Nets had rallied from 21 down to take a late fourth-quarter lead. But that was with Irving on the court.

Game 5, on Thursday at Barclays Center, now becomes a must-win for the Nets.

“I think they were physical, I think we’ve been physical throughout the series. We’ve got to match that or win that battle,” Nash said beforehand. “But it felt watching the game that they took us out of things. And I think they did. You have to give them credit.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

The 35-year-old Green had been forced out of Brooklyn’s first-round Game 2 win over Boston after just 12:07 with a left plantar fascia strain. He’d initially been listed as questionable for Sunday’s tilt in Milwaukee, and had to go through pregame warmups before the Nets’ medical staff cleared him.

“Well, I don’t think we expect him to play a ton of minutes,” Steve Nash said of Green beforehand. “I think we’ve got to see how he looks and feels if he’s available, and see how it goes. He hasn’t played for a couple of weeks.

“He was on the court the last couple of days, but still in a kind of controlled environment. So I think a lot of unknowns there still. I mean, it’s nice to have him back, for sure. But we’re not sure what he can do and manage, and how sharp he’ll be. But we hope that we have the option of using him.”

Brooklyn got to use Green for the first time since May 25. And it couldn’t come at a better time, after suffering a galling Game 3 loss in Milwaukee.

The 6-foot-8, 235 pounder provided another switchable big in Game 4 to help slow Giannis Antetokounmpo. Or at least try.

Green, who averaged 11 points on .492 percent shooting and a career-high .412 from 3-point range, was second in games played this season for the Nets with 68.

Brooklyn got Green back, but hamstrung James Harden is still out despite the team’s claims the past few days that he’s making progress, and Nash struggled to define exactly what that progress consists of.

“I’m not sure I can answer it,” Nash admitted. “I’m just going off of (asking) how’s James doing? ‘Good. It’s getting better.’ So, I asked him and he says he’s feeling better, doing better. I ask the staff, they say ‘yeah, it’s getting better.’ So I don’t know if I can detail what that is fairly.

“But he is on the court. He’s doing some shooting, some movement, his rehab, and he’s progressing in the right direction. But I don’t know exactly what he’s capable of right now. I think he’s still in that area where he’s got a little gap to make up. But he’s getting closer. So it’s been positive.”

Brooklyn lost Harden just 43 seconds into the series with right hamstring tightness, and he hasn’t played since June 5.

When pressed on exactly what benchmarks Harden has to clear before the performance team and trainers will clear him to play, Nash said it amounts to stringing together consecutive high-intensity practices.

“Just going off the last couple of occurrences with his hamstring, there’s a certain amount of continual high-intensity loads,” Nash said. “When he’s able to get up to full speed and do it for two or three days without recurrence or setback, then I think that’s kind of the markers.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

Says who? The person who knows him best of all: his mother, Wanda.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Post, Wanda Durant — affectionately known as The Real MVP — opened up about the Nets star’s online profile, the narratives surrounding him, his Achilles injury and his ability to bounce back after the biggest losses, like the one Thursday in Game 3.

“He finds a way to just dig in and pull out even more from himself,” Wanda said. “Knowing him, he’s taking the loss on himself. It’s a team sport, but as competitive as he is, he’s evaluating what he could’ve done, or what he should’ve done a little differently. So he begins to strategize in his mind on what he can do.”

Durant, who has a career average of 27 points per-game, has averaged 37.2 following postseason losses since the start of the 2019 playoffs (discounting the 2019 Finals game in which he ruptured his Achilles). Wanda — who runs her The Real MVP charity in Prince George’s County, Md., but has spent more time in New York since Durant joined the Nets — opened up about the injury.

“It was one of the hardest things for me to watch because I couldn’t help. I wasn’t there physically. I was not in the arena. When I saw it, it just broke my heart. It was tough and it was difficult, and as a mom I wanted to be next to my baby,” Wanda said. “I just wanted to be there to support him, and it was really difficult.

“And after he allowed me to pamper him and do all the stuff that mothers love to do, he’s like, ‘OK mom, I’m OK now. I have this and I’m gonna be OK.’ ”

Since his 2019 surgery, Durant has been far better than OK. He joined the Nets, and after a yearlong recovery has been as efficient as ever.

“It’s mind blowing, but for me, that’s just who my son is,” Wanda said. “So, it’s not something that’s unexpected or shocking to me. It’s just Kevin being Kevin.”

Durant being Durant is a phrase that’s also used by his detractors, though never about his play, but regarding his public persona. Or at least his online persona, and the narratives that have sprung up around it.

“That’s the one thing I get disheartened about is that people don’t take the time to accept what he says about himself,” Wanda said. “There’s a narrative that sometimes people want to place him in. And no matter what it is that he does, how he plays, where he plays, what he doesn’t say or does say, they have to make it fit.”

Many of those narratives began when he left Oklahoma City for Golden State. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called it the weakest star move he’d ever seen.

Wanda — whose charity helps with everything from COVID-19 recovery, social injustices, food donations, tutoring and mentoring for kids — questioned why Durant was villainized for joining the Warriors, but they weren’t criticized for wanting him. And now the Nets are the NBA’s most hated team for building a championship favorite.

“Some people say ‘OK, they’re building a super team and the players decided who they want to play with and that’s a problem,’ ” Wanda said. “Then the Nets say we want to build a team we think can win a championship, and then it’s a problem.

“So, what’s the happy medium? … You can’t please everybody, and everybody has an opinion about what you do.”

Durant has learned that. Whether it’s Michael Rapaport, Jay Williams or a random unverified egg on Twitter, he doesn’t shy away from engaging on social media. While some might unplug, Durant will engage and feed the trolls, for better or worse.

“You have people who’ll disconnect and you have people that are fully engaged,” Wanda said. “For [the latter], its therapeutic. The various reactions to social media, Kevin is just a part of it. So why is his first version of engagement with social media so blown up?

“And I get the superstar — the best basketball player in the world, hands down, let’s get that clear. Mama said it, and she believes it — and I get that part of it. But you have various responses and engagement levels in social media. So Kevin is just engaging in his life, and social media is just a part of our lives.

“If you simplify this to its lowest terms, this is all of us, then you won’t always have to elevate someone to be heroic or villain.”

To Nets fans, Durant is a hero. To many other NBA fans, the Nets are villains. But to The Real MVP, he’s simply Kevin.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

The Nets rallied from a 21-point deficit to briefly lead in the fourth quarter. But they couldn’t hold that lead, losing 86-83 to the Bucks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals before a sellout crowd of 16,310 at Fiserv Forum.

“We’ve talked to the players about it. We know that we’re going to take their best shot,” Nets coach Steve Nash said before the game. “They’ll have their fans behind them.

“We have to relish the opportunity to play under adversity and play in a great environment. It’s really up to the players to come with a great approach and to enjoy and relish the opportunity to play playoff basketball on the road against a team that’s desperate to beat us.”

The Bucks looked more desperate, and behind a combined 68 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, they cut the Nets’ series lead to 2-1. Game 4 will be here Sunday.

Kevin Durant, who had 30 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, hit a huge tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:23 to play, giving the Nets an 83-80 edge. But Blake Griffin was called for goaltending on a Middleton attempt just six seconds later, and after Joe Harris and Bruce Brown missed jumpers, Jrue Holiday got free for a drive to put Milwaukee back ahead with 11.4 seconds left in regulation.

There would be no overtime as Durant’s final 3-point attempt bounced off the back rim.

After the Nets briefly lost possession following Holiday’s bucket, they got the ball back, but Brown missed a desperate driving attempt with 4.3 seconds to play. Brown was forced to intentionally foul, and Middleton iced it from the line.

Middleton finished with a game-high 35 points, including 15 in the first quarter when the Bucks built a 21-point cushion. Antetokounmpo added 33, also scoring 15 in the first quarter. His layup with 1:30 left in the first gave Milwaukee a 30-9 lead the Nets spent the rest of the game trying to overcome.

“I think it’s important for us to look to hit first,” Nash had said. “They’re desperate. So you’d expect them to hit and throw everything they have at us; that doesn’t mean that we have to sit back and take it.”

Even though the Nets had rallied from a pair of 20-point holes in the regular season, they couldn’t pull it off again Thursday.

The Nets missed their first seven shots, with an Antetokounmpo dunk putting them in a 9-0 hole less than four minutes in. The Bucks, with their pride likely stung, played the way they should have in the first two games. They attacked downhill and bulldozed their way to the rim — and were rewarded by the referees for it.

Griffin picked up his second foul with the Nets down 11-4 with 6:58 left in the first. After a Durant turnover in the open court, Middleton hit consecutive 3s to leave the Nets trailing 28-9.

An absurdly acrobatic driving layup by Antetokounmpo earned a second foul from Nic Claxton and made it 30-9 with 1:30 left in the first quarter (Antetokounmpo missed the free throw).

But that’s when the Nets finally settled in, with a 9-0 run that spanned the end of the first and start of the second quarters.

With Bucks center Brook Lopez dropping deep, Brown hit four straight floaters — two of them as part of a two-man game with backup point guard Mike James. A 15-2 Nets run pulled them within 32-26.

Antetokounmpo — who drew a third foul on Griffin with a strong drive to the rim — actually got hit with a 10-second call at the free-throw line. And when Brown started digging down immediately to help on the Greek Freak’s spin moves, it helped force several key stops that got the Nets out in transition.

After trailing by as many as 21, the Nets had clawed within 45-42 by intermission.

The game got even more physical and chippy coming out of the break. After offensive rebounds by Harris and Brown kept a possession alive, Durant knotted it at 57-all with a 3-pointer. Seconds later, he got his arm hooked by PJ Tucker for a foul. The rugged Bucks forward disagreed with the call and went nose-to-nose with Durant.

Tucker had to be restrained by team security, and chants of “F–k KD! F–k KD!” rained down from the stands.

It was tooth-and-nail the rest of the way, knotted at 76-all on a Durant pull-up with 6:09 left in the game. Nobody scored for what seemed an eternity, the Nets missing three straight shots with a pair of turnovers and Milwaukee bricking seven in a row.

Middleton finally broke the drought with 2:40 to play, but Durant knotted it with a baseline jumper. Middleton scored again, and Durant responded again.

And again. It was Durant’s huge 3-pointer with 1:23 that gave the Nets an 83-80 lead.

Kevin Durant who scored 30 points after a rough first half, missed a chance for a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

No worries.

And no contest, the biggest rout in Nets playoff history.

The Nets played without Harden, and didn’t even need him to roll to a dominant 125-86 Eastern Conference semifinal Game 2 rout of the Bucks before a delirious sellout crowd of 15,776 at Barclays Center.

“Great start. Guys were prepared and hungry and not only played well but battled and fought and scrapped, did the little things that it takes to win,” Steve Nash said. “The guys have worked hard all this year trying to find our best level defensively, what works for us, how we can refine and improve it. [It] was exceptional.”

A 49-point lead against the team projected to be their biggest threat in the East? A 39-point rout that was the biggest in team playoff history? All of it with Harden seated on the baseline in sweats and a white shirt?

Yes, exceptional might be an understatement.

How? A team many claimed either incapable of or uninterested in playing defense painted a defensive masterpiece.

“We’re capable of greatness every single night: Just depends on the approach we have coming in,” Kyrie Irving said.

“Throughout the regular season, we’d let our guard down playing against some of the teams in our league, and they would punch us in the mouth and we would come in and talk to you guys after the game about what happened. We just figured out the little things in terms of how to create separation within the game and just remain resilient throughout.”

The Nets’ much-maligned defense harassed Milwaukee into 44.0 percent shooting. And after holding the Bucks to 6 of 30 from 3-point range in Saturday’s Game 1, they backed that up and smothered them into 8 of 27 on Monday night.

Brooklyn forced 16 turnovers, getting out on the break and converting them into 23 points. As if its potent offense needed any help.

The Nets shot 52.1 percent overall and hit a team playoff record 21 of 42 from 3-point range.

Kevin Durant led the way with a game-high 32 points with six assists. Irving added 22 points, five rebounds and also handed out six of the Nets’ 27 assists, compared to just nine turnovers in a clean game by Brooklyn. The Bucks’ performance, on the other hand, was anything but.

The Nets held Giannis Antetokounmpo to 18 points on 0 of 3 from deep, after the two-time reigning MVP had averaged 39.7 points in leading Milwaukee to a 2-1 season-series win over Brooklyn.

“It’s tough to stop him so we gotta be physical and do our work early and make sure we’re contesting shots and not giving him anything easy,” Durant said.

Now the Nets take a 2-0 series lead into Thursday’s Game 3 in Milwaukee, with the expectation of getting Harden back at some point in the semis.

Brooklyn pulled away early, and never gave up that momentum.

The Nets were leading just 17-13 after a Bryn Forbes pull-up 3-pointer with 4:45 left in the first quartet, but they blew it open with an extended 26-8 run that spanned into the second.

After Blake Griffin hit a 3-pointer off a Landry Shamet drive-and-kick, it put the Nets ahead 43-21. The clock read 10:10 left in the first half, but the game was already over.

Frankly, even the Bucks seemed to know it, too.

By the time Durant found Mike James for a 3-pointer with 3:04 left in the half, Brooklyn had padded the cushion to 60-33.

The Nets led 65-41 at the break and it just got uglier from there.

Durant didn’t even play in the fourth. And Irving, Griffin and Joe Harris all checked out with 9:04 to play and Brooklyn ahead 103-70.

When little-used rookie Reggie Perry hit back-to-back 3s, it made it 118-74.

It got testy when Tyler Johnson got tossed to the court by Mamadi Diakite for a flagrant foul. Johnson hit both free throws, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot added a 3-pointer and the game got utterly out of hand at 123-74.

“Obviously, we feel pretty good after two super-sound efforts where we executed the game plan, we were sacrificing for one another, especially on the defensive end,” Harris said. “It was just a level of intensity and attention to detail, especially on the defensive end. Probably some of the best possessions, quarters that we’ve had all season.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis

A statement termed Harden’s injury as “right hamstring tightness,” and when Steve Nash was asked multiple times on Sunday if the MRI on Harden’s leg revealed a strain — which would be more severe — the coach implied it did not.

“All I’m aware of is tightness,” said Nash. “James, he has high hopes and he wants to be back ASAP. We want to protect James, too; we want to make sure he’s right.

“This is playoff time. This is time to take some risks, but it has to be right to take those risks. We’re not going to take any old risk. So, we hope he’s back, he believes he can be back. But we’ve got to see what happens, and only time can tell.”

Granted, it’s the same right hamstring that cost Harden 18 straight games late in the regular season. Despite having been forced out of Saturday’s Game 1 win and ruled out for Monday’s Game 2, the news on Harden could’ve been worse.

Brooklyn offered no concrete timetable for Harden’s return. But when pressed, Nash did say he was hopeful of seeing the guard play again during this series.

“I’m definitely hopeful of seeing him,” Nash said. “It’s tightness, and we’ve had this history before, which was very difficult to predict … so I’m very reluctant to make any prognosis. But obviously, we’re really hopeful that he heals quickly and can move past it. We just focus on the next game and understanding he won’t be with us for the next game, but hope he heals very, very quickly.”

Harden’s injury occurred 43 seconds into Game 1 as he drove against Jrue Holiday on a kickout to Joe Harris. He grabbed his right leg and gingerly left the court.

He had an MRI that the Nets say showed no strain, thus no structural damage.

“Tightness, and most importantly he’s out for the next game,” Nash said. “So we’re preparing for [Monday] as we ended up playing [Saturday,] and that’s our focus.

“For James we obviously are desperate for him to return, and he’s a huge piece of what we do. But at this point, it’d be all guesswork. … He’s had such an up-and-down recent history with it that it’s really hard to predict; so let’s hope for the best.”

That history started March 31 against Houston, when Harden felt tightness and sat out the next two games. Brooklyn denied he had a strain, but upon Harden’s April 5 return against the Knicks, he lasted just 4:22 before getting injured again.

After a strain was then confirmed, Harden missed 18 straight games over five weeks, not coming back until May 12. He’d been on the verge of an earlier return but suffered a setback during an April 19 on-court rehab session.

This time the Nets are expecting a quicker rehab.

“He seemed to be in good spirits, to be honest,” Harris said. “He was talking a lot during film, asking a lot of questions, normal sort of leadership role.”

For perspective, Game 6 against Milwaukee would be June 17 if needed, 12 days from the injury. A potential Game 7 would be June 19, exactly two weeks’ time.

Mike James was summoned back into the rotation and logged 30:15 in Game 1. Kyrie Irving scored 25 points in 45 minutes, and will likely become more ball dominant along with Kevin Durant.

“He’s one of the greatest players in the game. So we miss a guy that can play-make, can manipulate the defense, can score one-on-one. I could keep going. He’s a leader for us. So, we miss a tremendous amount,” said Nash. “But we’ve had that all year. We’ve had guys in and out of the lineup, guys have stepped up.

“We’re in a position where at least we’re familiar with making adjustments with our lineups, rotations, combinations. We were able to survive it [Saturday], and we’ll have to be even more cohesive and clear [Monday] to win.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Brian Lewis