Getty Images Kevin Durant of the Nets warms up before Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs against the Celtics at Barclays Center
NEW YORK — Kevin Durant and the 2021-22 Brooklyn Nets’ underwhelming playoff run ended in a dissatisfying 4-0 sweep by Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics — which set a reflective vibe for the two-time NBA champion following Game 4’s loss.
Durant, who shot 38.6% against the Celtics, delivered his best performance of the series (39 points, nine assists, seven rebounds) in its 116-112 finale. Tatum had 29 points while Marcus Smart (20 points, 11 assists) and Jaylen Brown (22 points) held off Brooklyn in the final frame.
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Durant Says Celtics Have a Chance for ‘Big Things’
After the game, Kevin fielded questions about the Nets’ tumultuous regular-season woes and inquiries surrounding Brooklyn’s looming offseason. KD wasn’t shy when praising Boston for its impressive playoff performance.
“Give credit to the Celtics, first off. They’re an incredible team,” Durant told reporters after Game 4. “They got a chance to do some big things the rest of the playoffs. They played amazing.”
The Celtics coerced Durant into shooting below 40% from the floor — his lowest postseason field-goal percentage in a dozen years, per Basketball-Reference.com. After scoring his modest 16 points in Game 3, KD made 13-of-31 shots but was all ready to move on to talking about Brooklyn’s immediate future.
“There’s a lot of stuff that may factor into why we lose,” Durant said. “They were just a better team. I mean, they were just a better team. They played that way. This is the best defense in the league, right? For most of the series, the whole series we shot 50%, 40% from the 3. But, turnovers, offensive rebounds, and straight-line drives really killed us. Standing in front of their guys, they had bigger guys.”
Physicality played a major role in the opening round’s best-of-7 series, as the Celtics rattled Brooklyn’s star duo. Durant shot at a 33.3% clip from behind the arc while Irving made 44.4% of his attempts — which is his lowest in the postseason since his final season in Boston.
Durant on 2021-22 Nets: ‘No Regrets’
As for 2021-22, Durant isn’t harping on should of-could of-would of’s. He understands the microscope Brooklyn’s under as he, Kyrie Irving, and mercurial point guard Ben Simmons roam into the unknown.
“No regrets,” Durant said. “(Expletive) happens, you know? No crying over spilled milk. It’s about how we can progress and get better from here. We’ve been through a lot this year. Everybody in our organization knows what we went through. So, there’s no time to feel regret or be too pissed off about how we can find solutions to get better — proactive as an organization to get better. Even the great teams; they don’t dwell on what they do; they just try to continue to keep getting better.
“So, for us, we know where our mistakes were, so we’ll just try to turn them into strengths, but we can’t have no regrets on what we did. (Expletive) just turned out the way it did.”
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