In a key card game in the East, the Hawks sat at home to meet the Nets, and before the game began, the two teams ranked eighth and ninth in the East, and the two teams had the same record, with no difference in winning.
So, for both teams, it was a must-win game, and in the end, the Nets Durant alone scored 55 points, but still failed to help the Nets win, and the team lost 115-122 to the Hawks.
The winning Hawks moved up to eighth in the East, the Nets dropped to tenth in the East, and the Hornets shared the record with the Nets, but with a 2-1 record, they overtook the Nets to occupy the ninth place in the East.
After losing this game and falling to tenth, the Nets also completely lost the top six in the East and had to compete for playoff places through playoffs.
Durant, who scored 55 points alone, was naturally unhappy with the result of the loss, which was the third time in his Nets career that he delivered 50+ points in a single game, plus Irving's 4 50+ times, the two arranged 7 of the 14 times 50+ in The Nets' history.
Such a performance allowed Durant to set a record of 50+ times in a single season for players aged 33 or over in the league, Durant took the first place 3 times, and James, Jordan, Barry and Bernard King all tied for second place with 2 times.
At the same time, this is also the first time in the history of the league that two players have handed over 50+ points and 30+ points respectively, and the team still loses.
Therefore, after the game, durant responded to the new season high of 55 points, bluntly said that he was discouraged by the loss, although he was not worried about this, but losing is angry, compared to his own 55 points, more hope that the team will win the game.
Then he also talked about the controversial blow penalty issue, bluntly saying that he thought that the referee's blow penalty problem, the eagles won a large number of free throws, because the Nets were in foul trouble prematurely, whether it was the defensive end or the offensive end, the team failed to maintain discipline and failed to control the aggressive scale.
Coach Nash also publicly criticized the players of the whole team after the game, saying that the team should not give the Eagles 49 free throw opportunities, which is the epitome of the team's overall performance.
With 4 important games left (4 regular season games) left, the team must keep a clear head and lift their spirits to start the journey again.
In fact, it is no wonder that Nash and Durant are dissatisfied with the performance of the team's role players, and the nets in this game except Durant, the rest of the players are really bad.
Mills played 30 minutes, lost all 7 shots, only had 1 rebound and 1 assist, and also had 2 turnovers and 4 fouls.
James Johnson, who was heavily used by Nash, still had a sluggish performance in this game, playing 31 minutes, 1 of 3, 2 of 3 points, 2 of 2 free throws, and 3 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
It's also a microcosm of James Johnson's poor performance in the past 8 games, averaging just 1.5 points per game, making just five of 17 shots, losing all 2 three-pointers and holes on the defensive end.
In addition to the role players, Irving's performance was also disappointing, entering Ramadan, Irving was unable to eat and drink before the game, and his personal condition was obviously affected.
Played 44 minutes, 32 shots to get 31 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal, such efficiency was also ridiculed by the US media StatMuse, compared with the two statistics pointed out that Durant shot 4 times less, but 24 more points than Irving.
Even so, Irving is still full of confidence, after the game in response to the physical problems caused by Ramadan, Owen said that it may be one of the reasons, but he will not make excuses, although the time is not good for the team, but he is still full of confidence in the team, and then he needs to find the feel as soon as possible to share the pressure for Durant.