With Kyrie Irving hurt, Bucks tie series in stunner
Suddenly, the Nets are in trouble.
Already down a superstar, Brooklyn lost another when Kyrie Irving’s ankle rolled over to a painful sprain. Then the Nets were bullied and pummeled by the Bucks on Sunday afternoon, 107-96, with Kevin Durant unable to carry the weight by his lonesome.
Only a few days ago, the Nets held a 2-0 series advantage and were poised to cruise to the conference finals. Now they’re tied at 2 without much clarity on when Irving or James Harden will play again. Coach Steve Nash left open the possibility of the hamstrung Harden returning for Game 5 at Barclays Center, but said the sudden urgency of his presence won’t expedite the rehab.
We’ll see. Either way, Tuesday’s game probably represents the biggest game in the Brooklyn Nets’ short history, and at least the most important since 2014.
“I don’t want James to be rushed back. If he’s able to play next game or the game after, that’s fantastic. If he’s not, I don’t want to rush him back,” Nash said. “And jeopardize making something worse. So we’ll see. We’ll try to take everything into account and evaluate and make a smart decision.”
What became clear Sunday is that a Big 1 — even if it’s Kevin friggin’ Durant — wasn’t going to cut it. The Nets trailed by 4 when Irving soared for a lay-up midway through the second quarter and landed awkwardly on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot, causing the point guard’s ankle to fully turn over. Brooklyn hung around until halftime and quickly collapsed.
Irving was in obvious pain after the injury and limped off the court, trailed by team doctors and GM Sean Marks.
“I have no idea what’s going to happen with Ky in the coming days,” Nash said. “We’ll cross our fingers and that it’s better than missing the next game.”
On the ABC halftime show, analyst Jalen Rose said the league could assess Antetokounmpo a flagrant foul for moving his feet underneath the jumping Irving. However, replays showed the Greek Freak was moving to box out without any bad intent.
Nash saved a light criticism for Milwaukee’s P.J. Tucker, who again hounded Durant defensively. Durant, who missed 16 of his 25 shots, did not speak to the media following Sunday’s game. His security guard was banned from the series after shoving Tucker during a mini fracas in Game 3.
“(Tucker’s) playing extremely physical. And made it difficult. That’s his role on their team,” Nash said. “I thought it was borderline non-basketball physical at times. But that’s the playoffs.”
Durant forced the issue without his star teammates and had little choice. Joe Harris produced another dud with just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting, leaving Irving as Brooklyn’s second-leading scorer with 11 points in just 17 minutes.
“We all got to pitch in. We all got to play together. We got to move the ball. We got a little single-minded with giving it to Kevin every time,” Nash said. “It puts a little too much pressure, it makes us too predictable, I thought. Puts a lot of burden on him. …Of course we’re looking for Kevin whenever we can. But within reason. Without making us predictable.”
Without Irving, Nash used Mike James at point guard to start the second half. But the tactic bombed. James struggled as the Bucks went on a 13-2 run after halftime to take control of the game. The Nets never again cut the deficit to closer than nine points.
Antetokounmpo was back to top form while dropping 34 points with 12 rebounds. The Bucks outscored the Nets by 29 points in Antetokounmpo’s 38 minutes, snatching the series’ upper hand in the process.
