When the Nets signed Blake Griffin after he was bought out by the Detroit Pistons, they didn't know what version of the former high flyer they were getting.
Griffin had not dunked in an NBA game since 2019 and in his Nets debut was set up beautifully by Harden and the regular season for his first dunk and nearly two years.
On Tuesday night in Game 2 against Boston, Griffin had a pair of electrifying dunks in the third quarter with the nets burying the Celtics in the second half.
Brooklyn Nets small forward Jeff Green left the second quarter of Game 2 with a bruised left foot and did not return to action
The Nets had the game well in control in the second half but green status remains uncertain for the rest for Game 3 and the rest of the series.
The Brooklyn Nets are made quick work of the Boston Celtics in the first half of Game 2 as the Nets hold a 71-47 advantage.
Joe Harris set the franchise record for threes made in a half.
Harris finish the half with 22, Kevin Durant with 12, Harden with 10, and Irving with 8.
Steve Nash will be sending out the identical starting lineup for Game 2 against Boston as he did in the opener of the series. The usual suspects: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joe Harris, Kevin Durant, and Blake Griffin will be the starting five for the Nets.
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Brooklyn is hoping to avoid a second straight slow start with the potentially lethal offensive lineup. It's very unlikely Then that's will have another off-shooting night in the first half.
Celtics fans remember it like it was yesterday and Nets fans were hoping they would forget, but May 25, 2003, will live in infamy in the battle between Atlantic Division foes. New Jersey was crusing in the second half of Game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference with a 25-point advantage in Boston and well on its way to a 2-1 series edge over the Celtics.
Leadig 74-59 with under a minute to play in the third quarter, many anticipated that the final frame would be extended garbage time with each team's starters getting rest on the bench.
Instead, Boston staged a comeback of historic proportions, storming back to outscore the Nets 41-16 in the fourth quarter and clinch the biggest comeback in NBA playoff history, at the time. Jason Kidd's Cinderella Nets encountered their first sign of adversity in the midst of a magical run and instead of folding after an embarrassing defeat, they rebounded in Game 4 to escape Boston with a win after Paul Pierce missed potential game tying free throws in the closing seconds.
The New Jersey Nets won both Games 5 and 6 to end Boston's season and clinch the franchise's first ever NBA Finals berth, the first of two consecutive. This year's Nets are not anticipating any catastrophic blown leads in the series with the Celtics, a series in which they're heavily favored, but the painful memory for fans in the New York Metropolitan area is a constant reminder of what the great Yogi Berra exclaimed, "It ain't over, till it's over!' Since the Nets monumental collapse in Game 3 of 2002 the Eastern Conference Finals, they've gone 8-0 against the Celtics including a convincing Game 1 victory this year with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden combining for 82-points.
The 2020-2021 Nets are not the beloved underdogs like the Kidd-led teams of the early-2000s, in fact just the opposite, but long-time fans of the franchise are still cautiously optimistic that this year's title-favored Nets will deliver on that promise.
The track record for teams coming back from being down 0-2 to win a series is not very encouraging. Throughout NBA history, the 27-399 overall mark for teams in that situation tells the whole story.
Surprisingly, the Boston Celtics made two such comebacks in their playoff history, ousting Chicago in 2017 in the first round and the Lakers in the 1969 NBA finals after going down 2-0.
As Kevin Garnett taught Celtics fans 13 years ago, "Anything is possible." Well, especially if a former Celtic great is the GM that netted you KG, but that's a story for another day. The fact of the matter is, Brooklyn's talent is overwhelming and for the Celtics, Game 2 represents their chance to stabilize the series and at least give the Nets something to think about heading to Beantown.
It might not have looked like it in the first half of Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, but the Brooklyn Nets finish the 2020-2021 regular season with the most efficient offense in the history of the league.
Scoring 117.3 points per 100 possessions, the Nets were otherworldly as an offensive force.
James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant appeared to be pressing early on with Barclays Center bubbling with excitement and enthusiasm.
Now that Brooklyn's big three have their first playoff game under their belts, and ninth game overall playing together, Steve Nash is hoping that the offensive brilliance that was on display in limited action together will continue in Game 2 to help the Nets create separation in the series.
The Brooklyn Nets played some of their worst offensive basketball of the season and Boston came out shooting the lights out in Game 1.
The Nets withstood Celtic haymaker after haymaker before picking themselves of the mat, dusting themselves off and fighting back in the second half.
Brooklyn's defense was stingy and allowed the team to climb out of a 32-20 first half hole and flip the script in the second half.
James Harden admitted that playing in front of 13,000-plus fans wasn't something he was used to and early playoff jitters played a factor.
For first time all year, the nets used a starting five of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Harden, Joe Harris, and Blake Griffin. Steve Nash hopes his team works out the kinks in the lineup as it looks to go up 2-0 in the series.
The Nets shot under 42 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3-point range, but still managed to overcome a poor shooting night to clinch a Game 1 victory.
Kevin Durant had 32, Kyrie Irving 29 and James Harden 22 to push the Nets to a 1+0 series advantage.
Brooklyn got all it could handle defensively from Brad Stevens in the first half, but the talent just overwhelmed Boston. Game 2 is set for Tuesday night at 7:30pm.
The Brooklyn Nets put on one of their worst shooting
performances of the season going 1 of 12 from beyond the arc, but somehow only trail the Boston Celtics by six points at halftime.
Steve Nash will need to make some offensive adjustments if he hopes the Nets can rebound and avoid a Game 1 upset.
Griffin had not dunked in an NBA game since 2019 and in his Nets debut was set up beautifully by Harden and the regular season for his first dunk and nearly two years.
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