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Thursday’s 86-83 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks marked the first time this postseason that the Brooklyn Nets have shown any real cracks in their armor.
Following the Game 3 defeat, Kevin Durant lamented the Nets’ “tough” loss.
“I wish we would’ve made more plays down the stretch,” Durant told reporters. “That was a tough one. … I like how we clawed back into the game, but I hate how we started out that way.”
This game was very much a throwback to postseason matchups from the previous era when points were hard to come by.
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It initially looked like the Bucks were going to cruise as they opened up a 30-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Brooklyn largely erased that deficit in the second quarter when it outscored Milwaukee 31-15. The two teams combined for a total of 82 points in the second half.
Durant put the Nets up 83-80 when he made a three-pointer with 1:23 remaining. The Bucks scored the final six points to steal the win and get back into the series.
Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field and combined to go 14-of-63 from three-point range.
Durant led the Nets with 30 points, but his 39.3 field-goal percentage (11-of-28) was his worst of the postseason. The team’s 83 total points marked its fewest in a game all season.
Despite the loss, Durant and the Nets will look to take a 3-1 series lead over Milwaukee in Game 4 on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET from Fiserv Forum.