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MIAMI — Kevin Durant admitted the Nets were in “deep s–t” even before their latest defeat.
After a 115-111 loss Saturday night to the Heat — their league-worst 11th straight — the pile is getting deeper by the day.
The Nets (29-27) tumbled from the top of the Eastern Conference on Jan. 22, and have fallen all the way to eighth place and in position for the dreaded play-in. They stayed 2 ½ games behind the sixth-place Raptors, and will now be without Kyrie Irving for the next four games, all in New York City.
Irving scored 20 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter, as the Nets cut what had been a 21-point deficit, with two minutes left in the third quarter, to one in the final seconds of the fourth. Cam Thomas added 22. But when Kyle Lowry stole a pass between Irving and Thomas, the Nets fell in the end.
“We know we’re in some deep s–t, don’t get me wrong: But we do understand that with a win, one win, it could just put us on the right track,” Durant, who has been out since spraining his left MCL on Jan. 15, said. “And that’s what it takes in this league and things can change pretty fast.
“So I’m confident in our group.”
Is it blind confidence?
The Nets played without Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nic Claxton and Joe Harris. They also were without newcomers Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond, acquired from the 76ers for James Harden. Despite their depleted roster and ice-cold form, they actually led 34-31 after James Johnson found Bruce Brown for a reverse with 10:09 left in the first half.
But it didn’t last.
The Nets coughed up nine unanswered points. Max Strus capped the run with a pull-up 3-pointer for a 40-34 edge. The Heat shot 57.5 percent to take that halftime lead, while Irving gave the Nets just four points on 2-for-8 shooting from the floor.
The game still was within reach at 69-61 with 9:44 left in the third on a Kessler Edwards 3, but that’s when the Nets lost touch and the Heat went on an extended 20-7 run.
The Nets clawed back within four, and Cam Thomas (22 points) hit a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to make it 110-109, Miami, but a driving layup by Jimmy Butler left them down by three.
Irving sank two at the line, while Butler made just one of two, leaving the Nets down just a deuce with one final chance. And Lowry stole it.
Lowry had 13 points and six assists, running a Heat attack that put seven players in double figures.
“We’ve had I think a drop in our defense. It’s a priority,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “Part of that is having guys out of the lineup. We’re extremely small right now.”
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