4. Nets did their best to limit the Big Three and it wasn’t enough
Let’s be honest: Many people did not expect the Brooklyn Nets to have even a puncher’s shot at beating the defending champions who touted a lineup with three of the top 20 players in the NBA.
That being said, the Nets didn’t do too badly against the Warriors, but they didn’t do too well, either.
Despite a slow start for the Warriors as a team, Stephen Curry was still perfect from 3 by the end of the first quarter. Kevin Durant also had eight points, while Klay Thompson could not find the rhythm that he and his team had been so desperately searching for.
By the end of the half the game swung heavily into Golden State’s favor, with Curry setting the all-time record for consecutive games with at least five 3s in a game, running the string to seven. Defending Curry is as hard as catching a fly with chopsticks.
The combination of Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson couldn’t do enough to slow down the scoring monster that is Kevin Durant. He finished with 34 points, hitting shot after shot whenever the Nets built any momentum.
Thompson, the quieter of the three, had still struggled to put up points, despite finishing with 18. Thompson was 1-for-5 from three, despite hitting his only one in a pivotal moment.
Whether he left his shot in China or not, it is safe to say that this will not be the Klay Thompson we see in the playoffs.
The real killer to the Nets hopes to win the game were the points scored in transition. The Warriors had a 19-2 advantage when it came to fast break and transition points. And that was despite having Thompson off his game.