{"id":256824,"date":"2021-05-23T10:55:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-23T07:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/nets-kevin-durant-provides-reminder-of-greatness-resiliency\/"},"modified":"2021-05-23T10:55:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-23T07:55:15","slug":"nets-kevin-durant-provides-reminder-of-greatness-resiliency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nets-kevin-durant-provides-reminder-of-greatness-resiliency\/","title":{"rendered":"#Nets\u2019 Kevin Durant provides reminder of greatness, resiliency"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Nets\u2019 Kevin Durant provides reminder of greatness, resiliency<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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One night after his former team, the Warriors, missed the playoffs for the second straight year since he left, Kevin Durant had the floor to himself. Yes, he was out there with his fellow superstars, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, who sure had their moments against Boston in this Game<\/a> 1.<\/p>\n

But on a certain level Saturday night, given everything Durant has endured, Brooklyn\u2019s Big 3 felt just a little like Brooklyn\u2019s Big 1. KD made his return to the playoffs a very big deal, as he shook off some early best-of-seven rust to lead the Nets with 32 points and 12 rebounds in their grand postseason debut, a 104-93 victory over the Celtics at Barclays Center.<\/p>\n

Durant shot 2-for-10 in the first quarter as Boston carried the fight to the home team, and carried the lead into the second half. It didn\u2019t matter. Durant made the shots when it mattered most. His 3-pointer early in the third quarter gave the Nets a lead they never relinquished. His steal and breakaway dunk in the middle of the fourth felt like a knockout punch. He outplayed Jayson Tatum, and the whole night put another punctuation mark on a physical and emotional comeback that should notarize his toughness, and his heart, forevermore.<\/p>\n

This comeback was framed, said Nets coach Steve Nash, by a lot of questions \u201cand a lot of doubt. Who knows if he comes back to any level near what he was accustomed to?\u201d This Game 1 performance wasn\u2019t classic Durant domination, but the great ones still get 32 and 12 in the playoffs with their B material.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin
Kevin Durant shoots a jumper during the Nets\u2019 104-93 Game 1 win over the Celtics.<\/figcaption>
N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always great playing in this time of year,\u201d Durant said. \u201cThat intensity is the next level. \u2026 It felt great to be out there among the best teams and the best players in the league. Look forward to Game 2.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day after Durant blew out his Achilles in Game 5 of the 2019 Finals, I asked Tiger Woods why athletes in championship moments are willing to risk significant injury in pursuit of victory. Woods had famously won the 2008 U.S. Open by playing 91 holes, including an extended playoff, with a torn ACL and a broken leg.<\/p>\n

Woods spoke of \u201chow solemn [Durant\u2019s] face went\u201d after he crumbled to the Game 5 court. \u201cAnd no one can help you,\u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the hard part. \u2026 That\u2019s what people don\u2019t see, all those long hours that really do suck. And why do we do it? Because we\u2019re competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

We all saw Durant\u2019s competitive spirit that night, how he risked everything \u2014 his health, his legacy, and his upcoming free-agent score even though Golden State was trailing the Raptors 3-1, and likely to lose the series<\/a> regardless. The people who had questioned whether Durant had stayed out too long with his calf injury, or whether he had already, in his mind, abandoned the Warriors for the Knicks or Nets or someone else ended up looking pretty foolish. Durant knew his body like nobody else knew his body. So he had to know, deep down, when he decided to play Game 5 that something could go terribly wrong.<\/p>\n

Durant played anyway, a decision that led to surgery before he signed with Brooklyn for four years and $164 million, and joined his guy Irving. Durant spent 18 months on the sideline, skipping Bubble Ball along the way. So Saturday night was a big night in Brooklyn, where Durant stepped back into the playoffs after his old friend Steph Curry was eliminated by Memphis in the play-in tournament.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s legacy time again for Durant, who can add to the two championships he won with the Warriors. He was widely criticized for leaving Oklahoma City for a Golden State team that had already won a title, that had beaten his Thunder in the conference finals, and that had established itself as a ready-made champ for a superstar in need of a ring. That criticism stung Durant, a sensitive type who has a long memory when it comes to real or imagined slights.<\/p>\n