NEW YORK - The Brooklyn Nets could no longer overcome the effects of mounting injuries.
After compelling and even historic performances, dealing with a hamstring strain and ankle sprain, the Nets just didn't have enough to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in a 115–111 overtime defeat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Kyrie Irving sat on the sidelines on Saturday night in street clothes, and although James Harden played in Game 7, he did so "on one leg", as Nets coach Steve Nash put it, because he was on one leg. He was battling a hamstring injury that required his right leg to be wrapped in elastic medical tape.
Despite all this, Nash thought his group had hope.
"I still thought we could win it," Nash said. "And frankly, I think we proved tonight that we could. The game could have gone either way. You always know there's a chance. Anything can happen. I think We faced a lot of hurdles this year because our people gave everything they had."
Injuries were unbelievable for Brooklyn this season. Both Harden and Kevin Durant missed more than a month due to hamstring strains. The Nets Big Three of Irving, Harden, and Durant played just eight games together in the regular season before the playoffs began. But as the post season drew to a close, the nets finally gathered in full force.
It didn't last long.
In Game 2 against the Boston Celtics, Jeff Greene overgrown the plantar fascia in his left foot, which had been bothering him throughout the season. He lost six games. In Game 1 of the Nets series against the Bucks, Harden pulled the same hamstring that cost him time in the regular season, and he missed three games. In a crucial Game 4 against the Bucks, Irving awkwardly crashed to the floor after spraining an ankle.
Despite not having his full mobility, Harden ran back and was back in Game 5. After the Nets ended, Harden said that while the team was calling his injury a hamstring tightness, he was playing through a grade 2 hamstring strain.
"I, personally, like, it's disappointing," Harden said. "Just being durable and being myself for so many last seasons and dealing with this particular hamstring, I'm disappointed. We did everything we could until the end. Just disappointed, but credit to the Bucks. They end Fought till, one hell of a series. We just came up short."
But despite all those ills, the Nets almost pushed the perfectly healthy Milwaukee team into Game 7. Durant and Harden both played 53 minutes on Saturday night. Durant, who played every second of Game 5 of the series, set a new Game 7 record, scoring 48 points. This included a miraculous jumper at the end of regulation to tie the score and force overtime.
A piece of Durant's toe was on a 3-point arc when he hit the shot.
"My big feet stepped on the line," Durant said. "I just saw a small screen-shot of how close I was to ending their season from that shot, but it wasn't in God's plan, and we move on."
For the Nets, who were the favorites for most of the season, moving forward means taking a few days to digest the loss, resting and eventually recovering to be in a fresh pursuit of a championship next season. Brooklyn will need to address the contracts of several key players, including banned free agent Bruce Brown, unrestricted free agent Green and Blake Griffin. Injured guard Spencer Dinwiddie also has a player option.
Brown said after Game 7 that he would like to play for the Nets again in the 2021–22 season. Green and Blake said they would take a few days to recover before considering the future, but both noted how much they enjoy playing in Brooklyn.
"I think we have people who are highly motivated, passionate about what they do, unselfish, willing to make sacrifices, who have a lot of character," Nash said. "I think they will regroup and be ready to go again. It's been a really tough year. We've thrown a lot at us. They've survived it in incredible fashion. They're going to go again next year." Will prepare myself for it."