Nets stay on roll against Bucks, win eighth straight
Nets center Nic Claxton dunks against Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez in the first half of an NBA basketball game at Barclays Center on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It sometimes felt as if there were a little asterisk next to this Nets winning streak, an unspoken “but.”
Yes, the Nets are playing well . . . but they’ve gone up against a lot of undermanned teams.
Yes, they’ve dominated . . . but the schedule hasn’t been all that hard.
On Friday, though, Giannis Antetokounmpo rolled into Barclays Center with that bomb cyclone known as the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Nets responded by making a mockery out of any perceived asterisk. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
The Nets took the lead midway through the first quarter and never relinquished it, putting together a complete performance in a 118-100 victory over the Bucks. It was the eighth win in a row and 12th in their last 13 for the Nets (21-12), who dropped the Bucks to 22-10.
The Nets had six players score in double digits. Kevin Durant had 24 points. Kyrie Irving showed no ill effects from the sore calf that kept him out of the previous game and scored 18 points, 14 in a 33-25 fourth quarter. Nic Claxton matched a career high with 19 points and Ben Simmons had 12 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three steals. The Nets had 30 assists.
“We’re coming for everybody, man,” Claxton said in his on-court postgame interview.
Sure seems that way.
The Nets’ early domination took forms large and small. There was Irving’s no-look alley-oop to Claxton with five minutes left in the first quarter that got the fans on their feet, and there were the 13 first-quarter assists. When Durant sat, they didn’t wilt, and when Antetokounmpo took control, the damage was limited.
“We understand how dominant they’ve been this season,” Durant said. “We understand that everyone is watching this game and everyone came to this game and looked at this as bigger than a regular-season game. I think we tried to approach it that way. Those guys play extremely hard every night. They play physical every night, so we just try to match that. They play playoff-style basketball every game, so it was on us to match it and play our brand as well.”
The Nets led 60-47 at the half and kept pace with the Bucks on the boards throughout (45 apiece). It’s a pivotal stat, considering how much the Nets have been victimized by rebounds and the fact that the Bucks are second in the league in rebounding.
Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said that a while ago, he showed everyone their box-out stats. Irving said he saw his and realized he was second-to-last.
“The initial reaction is who’s making these stats,” he joked. “But then I got into the serious stuff . . . When I’m able to hold myself accountable, Jacque’s able to hold me accountable, my teammates, they grow with me [and are] accountable, then it makes it easier for us.”
The Bucks, though, were never going to go quietly. The Nets led by as many as 23 with 5:50 left in the third quarter before the Bucks closed out the quarter on a 21-8 run and went into the fourth down by 10. Antetokounmpo scored 10 points in that span.
“Giannis is going to get through us sometimes and we’re not going to overreact,” Vaughn said. “I think overall our guys responded extremely well.”
Royce O’Neale hit a running three-pointer with 5:40 left to kick off a 14-3 run that gave the Nets a 113-92 advantage with 3:05 to go, punctuated by Irving’s midcourt steal and pull-up three.
It showed the Nets could play a complete game, and that they wouldn’t allow a big-time opponent to bully them.
Said Vaughn, “I think we answered a lot of questions.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
