The world finally got a glimpse of the newest big three in the NBA, as Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving all suited up for the Brooklyn Nets when they visited the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
It was the first time that all three were available and started for head coach Steve Nash, but Brooklyn's three-headed monster couldn't contain Collin Sexton as the Cavs point guard completely stole the show to lead Cleveland to a 147-135 win in double OT.
Nash was clearly dissatisfied with his team's performance against Cleveland, especially on the defensive end.
“We had breakdowns all over the place. So we’ve got a lot of work to do. We know that. We know we have a very offensive team right now, so we have to find ways to defend, to get connected, to be on the same page,” Nash said, via The New York Post.
It was Kevin Durant who led the way, as he dropped 38 points on the evening. Kyrie Irving, who finally returned from a seven-game absence, put up 37 of his own.
On his third game as with the Nets, James Harden had another triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Clearly, offense isn't the problem for the three after they combined for a whopping 96 points.
Defensively though, no one could put the locks on Sexton. The third-year guard erupted for a career-high 42 points, 22 coming in the extra periods. This might be a recurring issue moving forward, which Nash wants to zero in this early for the Nets.
“That’s going to take some time. It’s definitely early as far as this new group, learning to defend together and how we can be effective defensively. That’s got to be part of our game that we’re going to focus on the most,” Nash said of the Nets' defense
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