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Kevin Durant leading all scorers in 2021 NBA playoffs

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For those still wondering if Kevin Durant would ever regain his MVP form, look no further than his playoff output so far as he leads the entire NBA in points per game at 34.8. Brooklyn's Big Three has been remarkable through four games and is primed to deliver the knockout blow on Tuesday night. Durant is a nightmare matchup for any team and even with a player of similar size and stature on the opposite side, Jayson Tatum, no one is able to bottle up the Nets star. Brooklyn is on the verge of its first playoff series win since 2014 and an eventual matchup with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Before turning their attention to their next round opponent, the Nets will need to finish their Atlantic division rivals in Game 5 back at Barclays.

Nets set new franchise playoff record for points, trounce Celtics 141-126

Kevin Durant had 42, Kyrie Irving 39, and James Harden 23 as the Brooklyn Nets pushed the Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination Sunday night.
The Nets set a new franchise playoff record for points with 141 in the win. Jayson Tatum dropped in 40 points, but Brooklyn held down the rest of Boston supporting cast in the contest. Once again Steve Nash's bench was not a major factor in the scoring column outside of Bruce Brown who produced 14 points. Brooklyn's offensive fireworks were on full display Sunday night at TD garden with the Celtics needing a win in Game 5 on Tuesday night to avoid going home for the remainder of the playoffs.

Steve Nash needs to extend bench rotation , paging DeAndre Jordan and Mike James

Aside from extended garbage minutes in Game 2, Steve Nash has kept his bench rotation short and leaned heavily on James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to shoulder the lion's share of the minutes and scoring punch.
DeAndre Jordan has yet to play a single minute and backup point guard Mike James has just eight minutes for the entire series. Kudos to Steve Nash for sticking to his guns and going with his big dogs, but the Nets are going to need to develop the confidence of their bench if they hope to go deep into the playoffs. The Big Three needs time to develop chemistry together, but the energy and scrappiness of the bench is what carried Brooklyn through the majority of the regular season without its top players fully healthy. Look for Nash to possibly toy with his rotations in an effort too late to spark under his team and escape Boston with a win in Game 4.

Nets need Kyrie Irving to focus on scoring, not Boston crowd

Kyrie Irving hasn't played well since Game 1 When he scored 29 points in a Nets victory. Irving went 6 for 12 in Game 2 with 16 points and just 6 of 17 for 15 points in Game 3. Prior to making the trip to Boston, Irving expressed concerns over potentially prejudice behavior from fans and Beantown upon his arrival. None of that transpired, but Irving looked out of sorts and not his normally aggressive self offensively. He was also responsible for guarding Jayson Tatum on several switches throughout the game without much success. If The Nets are hoping to return home to Brooklyn with the chance to close out the series, Irving is going to need to pick up the scoring load and shake out of the funk he's been in the last two games.

Nets let only thing that can beat them happen in Friday's loss to Celtics

Top to bottom, the Brooklyn Nets are a better team than the Boston Celtics. That's undisputable. Better star power, better supporting cast, and a better chance of winning the Eastern Conference.
However, they were bested in Game 3 due to one major disadvantage they have in this series. Coaching. Steve Nash is coaching in his first playoff series and it showed. Meanwhile, Brad Stevens kept things simple and put the ball in his best player's hands time and time again. Jayson Tatum went for 50 points, something he's done multiple times throughout his career. Nash waited far too long to force action away from Tatum on defense. The Nets constantly switched, which left Kyrie Irving on an island against Tatum and the results were predictable. If Nash and company are hoping to avoid a dogfight in Game 4, they'll need to adjust their coverage schemes against Tatum. Perhaps losing this game will expose some of the ways teams will attack them if they advance later in the playoffs and force them to face adversity before taking on the Eastern Conference heavyweights.

It took 50 points from Jayson Tatum and heroics from Celtics' supporting cast to defeat Nets in Game 3

The Brooklyn Nets lost their first game of the 2021 NBA playoffs at TD Garden in Game 3 on Friday night . Jayson Tatum's 50 points led the way for Boston while James Harden carried the scoring load for Brooklyn with 41, while Durant added 39.
The Nets jumped out to an early 19-4 advantage and appeared on their way to a 3-0 series lead, but the Celtics came back to retake the lead at 33-32 at the end of the first quarter. Kyrie Irving had only 16 points and looked gunshy and ineffective until key moments in the fourth quarter. The two teams will do battle again on Sunday in Beantown as Brooklyn will look to bounce back from the setback.

Expect Celtic pride in Game 3, but it won't be enough against Next Level Nets

Old fashioned pride and grit likely won't get an undermanned and so far underwhelming Boston Celtics squad facing the Eastern Conference juggernaut Brooklyn Nets. Through two games, Boston has been thoroughly outplayed, overmatched and manhandled by Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden. The old Boston Garden had a mystique and aura that would rattle opposing teams, but those days are gone. TD Garden will be packed to the brim, or at least to the fullest capacity allowed, but barring the Nets team bus running out of gas on the way to the arena, the Celtics are almost assuredly heading to a 0-3 series deficit.

Barclays Center has seldom, if ever experienced ugly fan incidents taking place in other NBA arenas

Unfortunately, unruly fan behavior has become pervasive in all sports and something that most want eradicated. It's easier said than done, however. Fill rabid sports fans with alcohol and a frenzied playoff atmosphere crazy things happen. Two particularly despicable incidents took place this week, one in Philadelphia with a Sixers fan pouring popcorn on Wizards guard Russell Westbrook as he exited into the tunnel with an ankle injury and another at Madison Square Garden as a Knicks fan allegedly spit on Hawks guard Trae Young.


It's not to say that fans are always on their best behavior in Brooklyn, but it's seldom reported that incidents like the ones that took place in the New York and Philadelphia. Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving raised eyebrows when he commented on prejudices players have experienced when playing in Boston. As arenas expand to full capacity and fans that have been either quarantined or confined to their house without live sports, it's important to understand that these lionized athletes are humans too. The focus of the media's attention should be on the sport taking place on the court and not the actions of fans in the stands.

Jeff Green ruled out for rest of Celtics series with strained plantar fascia

The Brooklyn Nets will be without small forward Jeff Green for the remainder of their first round series with the Boston Celtics, according to head coach Steve Nash.
Green left Tuesday's Game 3 with the injury and did not return. Diagnosed with a strained plantar fascia, Green will be reevaluated in 10 days. 68 games with Brooklyn, Green averaged 11 points per game and shot a blistering 41.2 percent from 3-point range. Green was originally drafted by the Celtics with the number 5 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft and was later traded to Seattle.

Kyrie Irving inching towards ultimate revenge, a series sweep in Boston

What better way is there for Kyrie Irving to pour salt into Celtic fan wounds than to win the next two games at TD Garden? Not letting the series return to Brooklyn for a Game 4 and sweeping his former team in its own building would be the best response to the vitriol he's received from fans in Beantown.
No matter how belligerent Boston sports fans can be, Irving can rise above the noise and send the Celtics and their fans home for good. A win in Game 3 inches the Nets closer to a sweep, but in all likelihood, Boston's spirit would be broken with a third straight playoff loss to Brooklyn. The Celtics have lost all five meetings with the Nets this year and nine straight playoff games to them overall.
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