The Brooklyn Nets signed Kevin Durant two years ago, fresh off the torn Achilles he suffered in the NBA finals, because they believed he could lead them there.
“I didn’t even think about nothing but just each possession,” Durant said afterward.
What Durant needed to do on every possession in this game for Brooklyn was, well, pretty much everything.
So Nash, smartly, decided to leave Durant out there, as he helped Brooklyn eventually crawl its way back from a 16-point halftime deficit to regain control of this series.
And for him to have that toughness, that mentality, that’s what makes him one of the all-time greats.
It wasn’t quite as beautiful for the Bucks, who left Barclays Center in defeat for the third time in this series.
The Bucks jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and maintained a comfortable cushion well into the third quarter.
While Milwaukee held an 87-81 lead after three quarters, the Bucks scored 21 points in the fourth.
We’ve got to guard him as a team, and we’ve got to make him make tough shots, like tonight, and we’ve just got to keep doing our job, and hopefully he’s going to miss.
“We have to just keep containing him as much as possible, but at the end of the day, he’s done an unbelievable job.
But after Milwaukee was able to be aggressive guarding Durant in those games, the officials called a tighter game in Game 5, resulting in Durant taking 16 trips to the foul line, and both Jrue Holiday and P.J.
Still, Milwaukee had its chances.
Got to focus on Game 6, hopefully we can be in the same position as a team and if Khris makes the same pass I can grab it and finish the play.
The Nets were able to protect home in Game 5, just as each team has done through the first five games of this series.
“Once they happen, I just try to move on and see if I can do it again.