Kevin Durant’s legend grew even in defeat
NY Post
Kevin Durant threw up a Hail Mary pass. That’s what it looked like in the air, anyway. A heave. A spin and a prayer. A turnaround shot for the ages.
A Game 7 shot maybe no other player on the planet could have made. Running on fumes after again playing the full 48 minutes, Durant needed every last ounce of energy and every inch of his 7-foot-5 wingspan to get the damn thing off as he faded away, 24 feet from the basket, falling toward the sideline as the pit bull defending him, P.J. Tucker, looked on. The Nets were down two when the ball left Durant’s hands, and they were tied when the ball fell through the net with 1 second left in regulation.It was only a three-second glimpse, but Matt Rempe, finally, showcased offensive strides. The ones he started talking about in the preseason — after a summer’s worth of work — and kept doubling down on, even when he fluctuated in and out of the Rangers lineup and shuttled back and forth to AHL Hartford.
In a different time, in a season to come, we may be inclined to wax poetic about the way this one played out. In a different time, in a season to come, the Nets will be seeking to stack wins and not losses, will be fighting for playoff seeding and not for a few extra ping-pong balls in the draft lottery this spring.
The NBA has an All-Star Game problem. Despite Adam Silver’s efforts to inject juice into the February showcase — including a format alteration to the 2025 game that is too confusing to attempt to understand before it’s inevitably changed again — there’s little interest in watching teams eschew defense for a series of layup line highlights. That also means the most entertaining part of the NBA All-Star Game is just like the Pro Bowl — debating over who should get a spot.