BOSTON — Everybody said Kevin Durant wouldn’t struggle as badly Wednesday night in Game 2 against the Celtics as he had in the Nets’ series-opening loss Sunday.
They were right. He was worse.
And Kyrie Irving struggled right alongside him in the Nets’ 114-107 loss before a sellout crowd of 19,156 at TD Garden.
The Nets led by as many as 17-points late in the second quarter but blew that, then coughed up a 13-2 run that spanned into the fourth and left them down 96-92. They never recovered, and now trail the first-round series 2-0.
Durant finished with a team-high 27 points, but shot 4-for-17 with six turnovers. Only an 18-for-20 night from the free-throw line made Durant’s totals look good.
Irving, after a 39-point eruption in Game 1, was held to just 10 points, on 4-for-13 shooting.
Jayson Tatum slams one home during the Nets’ 114-107 Game 2 loss to the Celtics.N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg
“They’re being physical. They’re up and into [Durant], grabbing him, holding him, all that stuff you come to expect,” Nets coach Steve Nash said of the Celtics’ defense. “He’s been uncomfortable and hasn’t looked like he’s quite been able to get his rhythm.”
Uncomfortable is an understatement.
In the Nets’ two losses, Durant is shooting just 31.7 percent (13-for-41 overall). It’s the first time in his career he has shot under 40 percent and committed at least six turnovers in consecutive games.
“They’re playing two or three guys on me sometimes when I’m off the ball, mucking up actions when I run off stuff,” Durant said. “I see [Al] Horford leaving his man and coming over to hit me sometimes. There’s two or three guys hitting me wherever I go. That’s just the nature of the beast in the playoffs.”
Kevin Durant, who scored 27 points, shoots over Daniel Theis during the Nets’ loss.N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg
Boston has been more beastly so far these…