DENVER – The West road trip ended like it started. The only difference is Brooklyn’s losing streak increased by five games.
Without Kevin Durant and James Harden, the Nets were run out of the Mile High City by Nikola Jokic’s crew, 124-104, with Kyrie Irving unable to turn his one-man road show into something competitive. The Nets (29-24) have now lost eight straight games, including consecutive blowouts, and fell to seventh in the East.
That’s play-in tournament territory.
Sunday was predictable. Brooklyn rode unsustainable hot shooting to a respectable first half, but never committed to defense and eventually enabled the Nuggets’ romp.
Jokic, who is making a case for a second straight MVP, notched a triple-double over just 30 minutes with 27 points and 12 rebounds. He missed just three of his 15 shots. Irving responded with 27 points on 10-for-26 shooting but got little help from his teammates in the second half, when the Nets were outscored, 48-25.
With the next game at home, Nash rode Irving for 41 minutes but the Nets were outscored by 19 points with him on the court.
Of course, the context is Durant has missed all these defeats with a sprained knee. He elevates the team into another category.
But this losing streak has exposed the Nets’ depth, or lack thereof. They were built around three stars and relying on Kessler Edwards, Cam Thomas and DeAndre Bembry was always going to be dicey. Now they’re getting buzz-sawed, losing by a combined 43 points to Utah and Denver.
The end of the five-game road trip also means the Nets will be seeing much less of Irving. He’s eligible for two more games this week in Washington and Miami, but then, following the trade deadline, Irving’s vaccination status will prohibit him from playing in seven of the next eight contests.
Two are on the road, but Irving is ineligible for Madison Square Garden and Toronto, based on mandate rules.
It’s a mess, obviously. Additionally, they’re dealing with trade rumors involving Harden, who reportedly wants to leave for Philadelphia. Steve Nash tried to extinguish that flame Sunday, saying pre-game the Nets won’t trade their All-Star guard.
Harden was inactive Sunday because of hamstring injury, which Nash described as “tightness and a strength deficit.” He was careful not to characterize it as a strain.
The first half was heavy on points and absent of defense. The Nets were on fire, hitting half of their 24 3-point attempts by the break while scoring 75 points. On the other hand, the defense put up the resistance of wet toilet paper.
The Nuggets actually beat Brooklyn’s 75 halftime points and led by 1. Jokic turned unstoppable in the second quarter, accumulating 18 points and eight assists at the break. The reigning MVP had free rein in the paint.
The Nets, playing with their depleted roster thin on talent, couldn’t keep up. Their offense lost team in the second half and Nash’s squad folded.
