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A day that began with New York City’s new health coordinator saying the mandates that have kept unvaccinated Kyrie Irving from playing in Brooklyn will be in place “indefinitely” and continued with Nets coach Steve Nash adding more mist to the murky circumstances concerning Ben Simmons’ back injury finally was headed for the gutter.
But after a gutting first half, the Nets’ lone superstar and best shooter rescued them Friday night.
After a grisly first 24 minutes in which the Nets allowed 75 points to the abysmal Trail Blazers, the Nets rallied behind Kevin Durant and Seth Curry and were able to exhale after a 128-123 victory at Barclays Center.
The eighth-place Nets (37-34) are now 1 ¹/₂ games ahead of the Hornets and Hawks in the Eastern Conference and moved to 2 ¹/₂ games behind the seventh-place Raptors, who lost. But the Nets’ fifth win in six games should have been far more comfortable against the tanking Trail Blazers (26-43), who have lost nine of 10.
“We didn’t come to play,” a slightly hoarse Nash said while adding he was “a little upset” at halftime. “We were just lucky that it was good enough to win the game.”
The Nets were down by 13 points at the half, trailed by as many as 18 in the third quarter, played little defense and committed 21 turnovers. But perhaps the best player in the NBA, who also is one of the best marksmen, can make up for a lot of mistakes.
Durant was sloppy — he finished with eight giveaways that he acknowledged put the Nets “in a bind” — but he also was superb in scoring 38 points. He went 4-for-6 during a third quarter in which the Nets finally woke up, and then passed the reins to Curry, whose big fourth quarter helped him finished with 27 points, his most as a Net, on 9-for-14 shooting (7-for-11 from 3-point range).
Curry, who missed three games with a left ankle sprain, showed how much the Nets have missed him.
“I didn’t want him to play that much,” Nash said after the shooting guard logged 37:49. “I also didn’t want to lose the game.”
As Friday dragged on, there was frustration (a technical called on Andre Drummond and the Nets’ bench), there was chippiness, and there was a run that brought the Nets back from a huge hole.
The Nets were down 82-64 with 10:40 left in the third quarter when they began mounting their defense (and offense). They were frustrated and jawing at the refs, and they allowed their anger to manifest into points. They ran off a 32-12 spurt to put themselves back in front, capped by a Durant 3-pointer that gave the Nets a lead they did not relinquish.
“We just upped our intensity and we slowed them down a bit,” Durant said. “Young, energetic team like that, you got to match their physicality and their energy.”
The Blazers tied the score at 101-all early in the fourth quarter, when Durant was resting, but Curry took over. He drilled a pair of 3s as part of a 10-0 jolt that gave the Nets the edge. Portland made a late run, but Nic Claxton’s tip-in with 21.4 seconds left was the difference-maker.
The Nets’ 39 points in the third quarter clinched the game, but they were still upset about those 75 first-half points from the Blazers, who were shooting 60.8 percent from the field at the break.
“I think I was lacking energy in the first half,” said Bruce Brown, who tried to take responsibility for the poor effort and rebounded in the second half, totaling 17 points with seven rebounds.
Five Nets finished in double-figures, but the game was about Curry and Durant — the superstar whose vaccination status and healthy back allows him to carry the Nets.
Earlier Friday, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the new health commissioner, said there is no end in sight to New York City’s private vaccine mandate, which prevents the unvaccinated Irving from playing home games.
Irving’s absence would be easier to stomach if the Nets could rely upon Simmons, but he continues to be sidelined with a back issue. Nash could not provide any updates on Simmons’ timeline, while mentioning an MRI exam that had not been revealed previously.
Durant needed a sidekick in Curry, but whenever the Nets needed a bucket for three quarters, Durant appeared. He went 11-for-15 from the field and added another 14 points from the free-throw line.
His third-quarter 3-pointer finally put the Nets over the top, with a 96-94 lead, and they never looked back.
“This was a trap game,” said Nash, whose Nets were ensnared — until they escaped.
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