If Kevin Durant can’t bail out Nets, others must step up

There have been so many times where Kevin Durant has bailed this team out.

There have been so many times when it seems like his Nets teammates have stood back in awe as Durant worked his magic and made up for poor defense, injuries and missing superstars. There have been so many times when the Nets looked like they were in deep trouble, but really weren’t because they had one of the greatest scorers in the history of the game on their roster.

This series, however, is not going to be one of those times.

The Nets, a team that was the Vegas favorite to win it all at the start of the season, is just one loss away from being knocked out of the playoffs in the first round as the Boston Celtics defeated them, 109-103, Saturday at the Barclays Center.

Game 4 is Monday in Brooklyn. No team has ever come back from being down 3-0 to win a series.

The big reason the Celtics are on the verge of a sweep is that they have found a way to make the Nets superstar shooter look like a mere mortal.

Durant, at age 33, may have met the biggest challenge of his career in a young defensive-minded Boston team led by a coach who has an insider’s knowledge of his game and seems determined to stop him at all costs.

Durant, who averaged 34.3 points in the 12 playoff games last year, has scored 23, 27 and 16. Though Durant shot better than he did in the first two games where he hit a combined 13 of 41 shots, he didn’t take enough shots to really make a difference, finishing the game with 16 points and shooting 6-for-11.

While it’s far from fair to pin this loss on Durant, it’s also hard to remember a period where he struggled in three straight games.

The Celtics have been throwing fresh body after fresh body on Durant, putting pressure on him the entire game, not just when he has the ball.

“I think it’s going to be a tough series for him,” Nets center Andre Drummond said before the game. “They are hanging their hat on making his life difficult, so we have to find little ways to get him easy baskets so he doesn’t have to work each and every possession.”

Ime Udoka, Boston’s rookie coach who was an assistant with the Nets last year, was asked in his pregame news conference what he likes about the way his team is playing Durant.

“I would say our physicality and attention to where he is at all times by not only the initial player guarding him, but the team in general,” he said. “…..Physicality has been great and then at times, you know, that wears on people and they start to press a little big and then they miss some shots they normally would make. So not to take all the credit for it, but he’s missed some shots that are makable that he’s obviously made his whole career. We have to continue to pay attention to that and not let him get going at times.”

Of course, one of the ways to muck up the Celtics’ defensive plan would be for other players to start knocking down some shots. The only one to really answer that bell Saturday was Bruce Brown, who finished the game with 26 points and eight rebounds. Kyrie Irving scored 16 points.

“We can’t give the ball to KD or Kyrie, and all four guys stand there,” Goran Dragic said. “….You know, we need to help them as much as possible and that it’s not only on those two guys, you know? It’s a team sport, so everybody has to contribute.”

Everyone has to contribute and contribute fast. Durant isn’t getting any younger and the window of opportunity for the Nets to win it all with him gets smaller every year.