Irving Durant is out
After Durant's injury, the Brooklyn Nets suffered 2 consecutive losses, and the team still maintained the second place in the East, but there was no win difference with the Bucks, and the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers behind them were only 0.5 wins behind the Nets, and the situation was not optimistic. In this game, the Nets will face the San Antonio Spurs, the second-to-last team in the West, facing such an opponent, the Nets cannot afford to lose, but another core player of the team, Kyrie Irving, is out due to injury.
Without Irving Durant, the Nets seem to have nothing to count on Simmons, an All-Star who isn't good at scoring. As for the San Antonio Spurs, they are used to such days, the team has no star players, so team basketball and national soldiers, have always been their credo.
The Spurs are playing steadily
At the beginning of the first quarter, the Nets were in a scoring drought, Simmons made six shots in a single quarter, hitting only 2 shots, scoring 4 points, 1 steal and 1 block, plus 3 turnovers. Curry Jr. shot 0 of 4 without scoring a point, Warren shot 2 of 3 for 6 points and 2 rebounds, and the team scored only 15 points in a single quarter, while the Spurs bombed 27 points, including Poeltl 8 points and 5 rebounds, Sohan 7 points and 2 rebounds, Johnson 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. After returning from the second quarter, the Spurs were still unfazed, scoring only 24 points in a single quarter, and the Nets regained their touch.
Sumner and Thomas each scored 9 points, Warren had 8 points and 1 steal, the Nets bench began to make a force, Simmons also had 4 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, the team bombed 36 points in a single quarter, and at halftime, the Nets successfully tied the Spurs 51-51. In the second half, the Nets fell into a scoring drought again, Claxton dominated the box, scoring 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block on 4-of-6 shooting, but the team only scored 17 points, while the Spurs scored 25 points, and Keldon Johnson scored 14 points and 5 rebounds, successfully helping the team take an 8-point lead.
In the final quarter that decided the game, the Nets fought to catch up, Curry Jr. became the leading scorer, scoring 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal on 5-of-9 shooting, and Simmons also had 2 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, but the Spurs withstood the pressure. As the team's star, Keldon Johnson continued to make efforts, scoring 14 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal on 5-of-8 shooting, helping the team finally defeat the Brooklyn Nets 106-98, giving the opponent a three-game losing streak.
The Spurs broke out
In the absence of Irving Durant, the Nets' roster talent is indeed not much better than the Spurs, not to mention, the Spurs have always been that kind of lineup, and the chemistry is definitely better than the Nets, so after the four quarters, the Spurs' scoring is very stable, as for the Nets, the two quarters scored more than 30 points, and the remaining two quarters totaled only 32 points. However, the Nets still had six double-doubles, Simmons had a triple-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, Warren was a team-high 19 points and 5 rebounds, Claxton had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Curry Jr. had 16 points and 7 rebounds.
The Spurs have completed their revenge, leaving aside the superstars, when it comes to the team's basketball style, no one is a match for the Spurs. As the team's star, Keldon Johnson shot 11 of 26 and got a double-double of 36 points and 11 rebounds, you know, this is just a player with the 29th pick in the first round, but under Popovich's coaching, he can already be alone. Rookie Sohan had 16 points, four rebounds and two assists, Jones had 13 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Poeltl had 12 points and eight rebounds. After losing this game, the Nets have fallen from second to fourth in the East.