This game against the Clippers is very critical for the Nets, on the one hand, this is the second game since Durant's return, the nets were actually terminated after his return in the last game, and whether Harden can continue his excellent performance is also one of the important points to watch. On the other hand, before this game, the Bulls, who are in second place in the East, have won six consecutive games, and if the Nets can't win the game, it is likely that the Bulls will complete the counterattack and fall to the second place in the East.
Many Clippers players, including Morris, Kennard and George, missed the game, but the Nets, who had hardened with Durant, were still playing harder, leading their opponents by only four points at the end of the first half. In the second half of the game, as Harden scored 16 points in the third quarter of the game, the Nets gradually widened the point difference. With seven minutes left in the game, the Nets had established a double-digit lead, but they were chased by the opponent due to the final moment of letting down their guard, and with Durant's key free throws and three-point shots, the Nets finally completed the reversal by the opponent at 116:120, thus losing the game.
Throughout the game, the reason why the Nets eventually lost was closely related to the giants of the team's two teams. First, Harden played 40 minutes in the game, scoring 34 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists on 3 of 3 of 22 three-pointers, the second consecutive game to have a triple-double. In addition, Harden also showed a very strong scoring ability in this campaign. In fact, Harden's offensive form in the first half was not good, with only 2 of 10 shots in the entire first half of the game, and only scored 8 points.
However, in the third quarter of the game, Harden suddenly burst into full swing, shooting 5 of 7 in a single quarter, including 3 of 4 three-pointers to get a comprehensive stat of 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, and also helped the Nets open up the point difference in the third quarter. But with 7 minutes left in the final quarter, Harden was lax in his game, dealing with both ends of the attack and defense more casually, and although he scored 10 points in a single quarter, he only shot 0 of 3 three-pointers. In the last two minutes of the game, Harden even suffered a penalty miss, and was repeatedly targeted by opponents on the defensive end. All in all, the Nets' eventual loss of this battle has a lot to do with Harden's random performance on the court in the last moment.
For Durant, it was his second game since his return from a health and safety agreement, and in the last game against the 76ers, Durant played well, scoring a team-high 33 points with a 54.2 percent shooting percentage, but the Nets eventually lost the game-ending winning streak. In this game, Durant performed very well for most of the game. According to statistics, Durant played 39 minutes in this campaign, and in 11 of 24 shots, he scored 28 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists on 6 of 2 three-pointers, and still maintained a fairly efficient offensive efficiency.
But as strong as Durant, there was also a situation of falling off the chain at the critical moment of the game. On the one hand, Durant only scored 6 points in the final quarter of the game, and when the team fell into a scoring drought, Durant failed to stand up and save the team as usual, resulting in the team being completed. On the other hand, when Durant was at a critical moment in the game, when the Nets still maintained the hope of winning the game, there was a situation where the key free throw was missed, and it is worth mentioning that Durant only lost this free throw in the whole game. And when the Clippers then hit a free throw, Durant's three-pointer hit the iron again, eventually causing the Nets to lose the game. It's rare for Durant to have so many chain drops at key moments.
Interestingly, before Durant returned, the Nets had won both games led by Harden alone, winning consecutive away games against the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers. Among them, Harden's performance in these two games is extremely eye-catching, first in the game against the Lakers to cut 36 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 blocks of the triple-double, and then in the game against the Clippers cut 39 points, 8 rebounds and 15 assists of the quasi-triple-double data. Harden, who was once omnipotent in the Rockets, seems to be back, and such personal performances and team performances undoubtedly make fans feel very happy.
After Durant's return, Harden still maintained a high level of personal play, cutting 30+ triple-doubles in two consecutive games, and the offensive means of creating fouls to get free throw opportunities were also outstanding, and the two games combined 33 free throw opportunities, hitting 27 of them. However, although the Nets ushered in Durant's strong comeback, the team suffered two consecutive defeats, and the game was lost at home to the remnant Clippers, and it should be noted that before two games, the Nets led by Harden alone also won the Clippers on the road. It's embarrassing.
And as Durant and Nash said in post-game interviews, they all agreed that the Nets lost this game on the attitude of the team as a whole. They also admitted that the team played the game very relaxed and without the slightest vigilance in the last minute, which was the biggest reason for the team's loss, and they also ended up eating their own consequences. After the loss of this game, as the Bulls won the Wizards, the Nets were overtaken by the Bulls, temporarily placing them in second place in the East. Losing two games in a row is also the first time the Nets have suffered a losing streak this season, all of which has a lot to do with their lax mentality in this game.
Of course, such a problem is also a good thing for the Nets, and finding out that the team has problems before entering the playoffs means that they have enough time to solve them. For a strong team, it is also normal to have a lax mentality, but at present, players such as Durant and Harden have found the reason for losing this game. With the current team's lineup gradually aligned, the Nets are entirely likely to overtake the Bulls and return to the first place in the East again, which requires them to make adjustments as soon as possible.