Kevin Durant driving Cam Thomas is about as insane a scenario as the Nets could imagine.
During the third quarter, he forced his way into the lane and stood up as Thomas continued to reach. Durant easily tipped over the bucket, heard the whistle signaling a foul, and glared at the fans behind the basket instead of Thomas.
The former (and short-lived) Nets superstar raised his right hand, extending his index finger and thumb about an inch apart. This is a universal symbol. too small.
On this night, the Nets certainly brought this joint team to the varsity game.
Back in Brooklyn, Durant’s Suns defeated the Jacque Vaughn Group 136-120 at Barclays Center, dominating the Nets more in style of play than in final score. That’s literally what this word means.
The Nets (19-28) ended their winning streak at two and haven’t won three in a row since early December.
Facing a superstar who followed Kyrie Irving out of Brooklyn last year must have been a little more painful than most. It had to hurt the poor winger the most because he had to protect Jusuf Nurkic.
Without Ben Simmons, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dayron Sharpe, the Nets were forced to deploy comparisons to the Suns’ 7-footer whenever Nic Claxton was off the court. (Claxton couldn’t stand it either.)
Nurkic completely dominated the game, scoring 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting and running back in without any resistance.
Nurkic added 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks to help his team outscore the Nets 52-36.
Simmons sat out for nearly three months before returning Monday, and was on the bench after one game with a knee contusion.
Finney-Smith missed his second straight game with an ankle sprain, and Sharpe remains sidelined with a knee injury.
So the unlucky matchups were against wingers like Cam Johnson, Royce O’Neal and Spencer Dinwiddie, who got thrown around.
A team featuring Durant (33 points), Devin Booker (22 points) and Bradley Beal (12 points) was led by a veteran center who, for some reason, was never an All-Star.
The Nets hung on in the first half, going into a breakdown with just three shots. They were badly outrebounded but were cautious on offense, turning the ball over just twice in the first half and shooting 51.1 percent from the field in the opening half.
They weren’t trying to outdo Nurkic, Durant, et al., but they were trying to take shots and outrun them and get 11 steals.
That plan fell apart in the third quarter, with the score tied 75-75 at 7:31, the last time the Nets were satisfied.
The Suns went on a 24-6 run behind Durant’s 10 points, and the game was never evenly contested again.
Cam Thomas’ fourth-quarter performance (8 of his 25 points last period) kept the final score reasonable, but the Nets never got within single digits in the fourth quarter.
The night started with a bit of drama. Yes, Durant did receive a memorial video that he said he didn’t want to see, but it was short and preceded the action.
A mixed reaction was heard from the crowd, which saw more cheers than boos as their mixed former savior returned to Barclays Center for the first time since the trade in February 2023.
Once the game started, the cheers died down and were replaced by boos every time Durant touched the ball.
However, fans who boo may be hoarse in the morning. Durant continued to touch the ball, scoring 33 points on just 10-of-16 shooting and dishing out eight assists.
“I’ll never forget my experience with Kevin,” Vaughn said before the game. “K made me a better coach. I have nothing but fond memories. I’m glad I had the opportunity to coach him. He’s an incredible player and He’s one of the best players to ever suit up.”
Nets fans can attest to a similar point.
The Nets had six players score in double figures and got a nice game from Mikal Bridges, who continued his hot shooting (21 points). Lonnie Walker IV added 19 assists off the bench, setting a team and season high with seven assists.
But Wednesday was about pieces the Nets no longer have. Of course, it’s not just Durant, but any player who can protect a muscular center.
