On March 7, Beijing time, in the NBA regular season, the Celtics defeated the Nets 126-120 at home, ushering in three consecutive wins. In this game, Tatum hit eight three-pointers, scored 18 points in the final quarter, and scored 54 points to play his personal best of the season. He became the first player to achieve 50+ multiple times this season, and successfully tied Bird's all-time record of 50+ four times in his career, becoming the first in Celtics' history.
Although Durant scored 37 points, his performance was undoubtedly much inferior to that of Tatum. He made seven turnovers in the whole game, and he missed three points at key moments, allowing him to miss the opportunity to chase points. Irving, who returned to the team, had 19 points and six assists, and in the home of his old club, the Celtics, he was greeted only by boos.
After losing this game, the Nets' overall morale has fallen to the bottom. The team has recently suffered four consecutive defeats, and the winning percentage has officially fallen below 50%. The team's current record is 32 wins and 33 losses, which is equal to that of the Hornets. With the two sides meeting for the first time this season, the Nets were at a disadvantage in their head-to-head record. As a result, the Nets were overtaken by the Hornets after this game and fell out of the top 8 in the East. The Nets are in a very awkward situation at the moment, with the team being tied to the 10th-place Hawks, and the 11th-place Wizards with only a 2-win gap, and the future is not without the possibility of falling out of the playoffs.
The Nets were in terrible shape in the middle of the season, with the team winning just three of their last 20 games and swallowing 17 defeats, including a wave of 11 straight losses. Historically, the Nets have now triggered two major league laws, suggesting they will miss the championship.
The Nets have won less than 50 percent of the first 65 games of the season, and no team in history has been able to win the championship in this situation;
The Nets have suffered 11 consecutive losses before, and the longest championship winning team in history has suffered only 6 consecutive losses, which has happened 4 times, namely the 50-51 royal team (the predecessor of the Kings), the supersonic speed of the 78=79 season (the predecessor of the Thunder), the Pistons of the 03-04 season and the Mavericks (now the Mavericks) in the 10-11 season.
For the Nets, the team's remaining fixtures are not too difficult. With an average win rate of only 48 percent of the remaining 17 games, the team ranks 27th in the league. But the team only has the last 6 away games left, which means that in the case of new York's epidemic conditions remaining unchanged, Irving only has the last 6 games left to play for the team. This invisibly increases Durant's pressure once again.
The Nets' poor defense needed the team's new signing, Simmons, to save. Simmons still does not have a clear comeback schedule, and according to comprehensive sources, his fastest playing time will wait until late March, leaving him and Irving with extremely limited time. In contrast, Harden has a wave of four consecutive wins after joining Philadelphia, and the team is currently full of energy. The two are really heart-wrenching in comparison.
According to the schedule, the Nets' next game will be a head-on trip against the Hornets on Wednesday morning, which will be very important for them, and the winner or loser of this game may directly determine their future ranking direction.
(Text/Yuwen Basketball)