Kevin Durant backing down Jaylen Brown Game 3
The Nets came up short in a 109-103 loss to the Boston Celtics in Brooklyn, and are now on the verge of being swept in the series.
Five things to know from Game 3…
1. In the early minutes, it was Bruce Brown who brought the energy for the Nets, scoring seven of Brooklyn’s first nine points, as the Nets jumped out to a 12-5 lead. But on the other end, Jayson Tatum also got off to a hot start with a quick eight points on a couple of threes.
Tatum was a problem in the first, scoring 12 points to lead Boston to a 30-25 lead after 12 minutes. Brown had 10 points in the quarter for the Nets.
2. Coming off a game in which he shot just 4-of-17 from the floor, Kevin Durant was once again swarmed by the Boston defense early. He hit his first two shots, but was limited to just five points in his first 19 minutes while also picking up two fouls.
In the early minutes of the second, with Durant on the bench, the Celtics increased their lead to nine points, their largest of the game to that point. Payton Pritchard (10 points) fueled the Celtics in the quarter, helping Boston push the lead to double digits. But Nic Claxton (10 points in his first 13 minutes) gave the Nets some valuable minutes off the bench, and a Patty Mills three cut the Boston lead to just one point with under a minute left in the half.
Ultimately, Boston led 53-50 at the break, led by Tatum’s 12 points and Pritchard’s 10 off the bench. For Brooklyn, Durant and Kyrie Irving combined for 17 first-half points, but it was Brown’s 16 points leading the way.
3. The Celtics scored five quick points to start the third quarter, prompting Steve Nash to call a timeout. Durant and Irving tried to get the Nets back into it, but the Celtics were there to answer every blow, as a Tatum three pushed the lead back to nine with five-and-a-half-minutes to go in the period.
Just as the lead hit double digits again, the Nets fought back, led by Brown and Claxton with a key Mills…