New York, Jun 1 (EFE) .- The Brooklyn Nets are already in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference after eliminating the Boston Celtics 4-1 to the best of seven and all thanks to the great work that the “Big Three “from guard James Harden, forward Kevin Durant and point guard Kyrie Irving, who were able to play all five games together and show their full potential.
Before the playoffs arrived, they could barely be during the second half of the regular season eight games together, because injury problems and Covid-19 infections prevented it, which left the question of how good the Nets could be with all three All-Star players in full swing.
Part of that answer was given in the five games played against the Celtics, who dominated, with the exception of the third, in which Irving was not well, and power forward Jayson Tatum, with 50 points, was masterful with the team of Boston.
But the rest of the way, both Harden, who was the great figure of the fifth game that the Nets won by 123-109 tonight, like Irving in the fourth and Durant in the first two, his contribution was decisive.
“We weren’t even worried about the playoff race yet, we were just happy to be on the court together,” Harden said. “So it’s great to get a series out of the way and like I said, we’ll take the day off tomorrow and recover and prepare for a tough Milwaukee (Bucks) team.”
Harden was the great figure of the game, getting his first postseason triple-double (34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) with Brooklyn, the eleventh in team history, which had 10 and all achieved by former base Jason Kid.
“Although we have not been together much during the regular season, the three of us showed in the games against the Celtics how dangerous we are with our game and the 104 points in the fourth game showed it,” said Harden.
For his part, Irving, who contributed 25 points in the fifth game as the second highest scorer, reiterated that being the three together is something very special, but that it does not guarantee anything either, if not that you have to go off the field and fight in each game.
While Durant, who scored 24 points, as the third leading scorer for the Nets, who reached the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014, warned that they still have a lot of work ahead of them and more when the next opponent is the Bucks, who finished third during the regular season, and have superstar power forward Giannis Antetokoumpo on the roster.
Durant insisted that what is presented to the Nets in the next tie is not only to overcome the tie but to do it against a great rival with an exceptional player who turns the duel into a great sporting challenge.
(c) EFE Agency