Suddenly, the Nets are in trouble.
Already down a superstar, Brooklyn lost another when Kyrie Irving’s ankle rolled over to a painful sprain. Then the Nets were bullied and pummeled by the Bucks on Sunday afternoon, 107-96, with Kevin Durant unable to carry the weight by his lonesome.
Only a few days ago, the Nets held a 2-0 series advantage and appeared poised to cruise to the conference finals. Now they’re tied 2-2 without much clarity on when Irving or James Harden will play again.
The Nets trailed by 4 when Irving suffered his ankle sprain midway through the second quarter, when he soared for a lay-up and landed awkwardly on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot. They hung around until halftime and then quickly collapsed.
Durant scored 28 points while shooting just 9-for-25, hounded by Milwaukee’s physical defense. With Harden out because of the hamstring strain he suffered just 20 seconds into Game 1, Durant had no help from the supporting cast, with Joe Harris producing another dud (eight points, 3-of-8 shooting).
Irving managed just 17 minutes and was Brooklyn’s second-leading scorer with 11 points.
Antetokounmpo countered with 34 points and 12 rebounds. The Bucks outscored the Nets by 29 points in Antetokounmpo’s 38 minutes.
Without Irving, coach Steve Nash used Mike James at point guard to start the second half. James was signed in May after spending most of the last three seasons in Europe. He has overachieved with Brooklyn but couldn’t fill Irving’s sneakers Sunday. James struggled to start the second half when the Bucks went on a 13-2 run and took control of the game.
