The Brooklyn Nets lost Game 3 against the Boston Celtics thanks largely to a terrific, 50-point performance from Jayson Tatum. The Nets still hold a 2-1 series lead and have looked the part of an NBA champion. After the game, James Harden gave a very humbling response after the Nets' first loss of the postseason.
James Harden: “As much as we don’t want to lose, this is probably good for us.” #Nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) May 29, 2021
Surprising comments from The Beard. For his sake, he was phenomenal in the loss against the Celtics. He finished with 41 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. Meanwhile, Kevin Durant had 39 points and nine boards as Boston won 125-119 at TD Garden.
For Harden, he means it. The Nets weren't going to win 16 straight en route to a title, and maybe they can go back to the drawing board and see what went wrong in Game 3.
The Boston crowd was wild, and Tatum played on another level on Friday night, making history in the process as one of the youngest players to ever score 50 points in a playoff game.
With the series now a 2-1 Nets lead, they will go back to the film room and figure out how to stop Tatum. However, the Nets barely lost, and Tatum had to put up 50 just to barely squeak out a victory.
Kyrie Irving won't shoot 6-17 from the field again for some time, and Tatum and Marcus Smart probably won't combine for 73 points in another game in the series.
All in all, maybe this is a good thing for Harden and the Nets. It could be a bit of a humbling experience.
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