Looking to even up their first round playoff matchup with the Boston Celtics, the Nets took a 10-point lead into halftime in Game 2, but even with a seven-point lead to start the fourth, the Nets couldn’t hold on to the lead, as things slipped away and Boston pulled out a 114-107 win.
A 14-2 Celtics run to start the fourth changed the tied for good, but things had already started heading south before that point, as the Celtics started building momentum in front of their home fans.
After the game, the Nets weighed in on where things went wrong in the Game 2 loss and how they can recover for Game 3 on Saturday. Here’s what they had to say:
Steve Nash
“I think our intensity dropped a little bit in the second half and made a big difference. I thought they continued to be physical, and we also didn’t convert. We had a lot of opportunities we didn’t convert, we turned it over 14 times as did they, but 19-8 (points) off those turnovers, I think that’s kind of the game right there.
“We made some big strides in the first half, played a lot better, and now we have to sustain it for two halves.”
Bruce Brown
“We just weren’t scoring on the other end. We had some turnovers, they were getting out and getting some easy ones, and we started fouling and Jaylen Brown got going. I just think our physicality took a step down in the second half.”
Kyrie Irving
“To be honest with you, we don’t really have time to be disappointed and hold our heads. This is playoff basketball and learning your team and being in these situations where we can have some carryover into the next one.
“We’ve just got to be better moving forward coming out of halftime and knowing we have the lead against a good team or a great team like Boston, so we’ve just got to take advantage of it. … Us as players on the court, we’ve got to control that and rise to the occasion. It’s as simple as that.”
Kevin Durant
“Just get ready for work tomorrow and keep grinding. I’m gonna turn the ball over, I’m gonna shoot the ball a lot in the playoffs. I play a lot of minutes. I’m going to be expected to be aggressive throughout the rest of this series. So control some of that stuff, look at film, and just keep playing.”