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“Nets fans were loud, threw me off a little bit”: James Harden explains why Blake Griffin and co couldn’t score freely in the first half vs Celtics

Raahib Singh
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"Nets fans were loud, threw me off a little bit": James Harden explains why Blake Griffin and co couldn't score freely in the first half vs Celtics

Brooklyn Nets’ star James Harden blames the crowd in attendance for his poor start to the first playoff game against the Celtics

The NBA playoffs are underway! The first day of the matches was nothing short of excitement. We witnessed an OT battle in the first matchup of the postseason, with the Bucks taking Miami to OT to win 109-107. The Mavericks upset the Clippers, as they beat the hosts 113-103. The Brooklyn Nets started their campaign with a win against the Boston Celtics. The hosts beat the visitors 104-93.

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Despite a slow start by the Nets, their Big 3 came alive in the second half to secure the win. The Big 3 finished with a combined 82 points. Kevin Durant led the way with his 32 points and 12 rebounds. Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, and James Harden almost finished with a triple-double. He scored 21 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and dished 8 assists.

James Harden blames the crowd for throwing the Nets off their game

The Nets had a rather very slow start to the game, shooting just 1/13 from 3s in the first half. They were down by as much as 12 points within the first two quarters. They did recover in the second half and won the contest.

James Harden has a rather interesting explanation for their slow start. According to James, the cheers and noise by the fans threw the Nets off their game. There were 14,391 fans in attendance, which is the highest number of people gathered indoors in New York since the spread of the pandemic. The cheering of the fans took some adjusting to, according to Harden.

Also Read: “They tried to justify Carmelo Anthony being out of the league”: Jamal Crawford reacts to Blazers star’s performance in front of booing Nuggets fans

Despite trailing by double digits early in the game, Brooklyn secured the win rather comfortably. It would be interesting to see how far the team can make it this post-season, considering their lineup is what it is.

About the author

Raahib Singh

Raahib Singh

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Raahib Singh is an NBA Journalist and Content Strategist at The SportsRush. A Computer Science Engineer by qualification, Raahib's passion for sports drew him towards TSR. He started playing basketball at 14 and has been following the NBA since 2013. His entry into the basketball world perfectly coincided with Stephen Curry putting the league on notice. Having followed the league for a long time, he decided to use his knowledge to become a sportswriter with The SportsRush in 2020. Raahib loves to put up some shots in his spare time, watch Cricket, Formula 1, and/or read a nice thriller.

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