The Brooklyn Nets took Game 1 of their second-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks with a 115-107 victory on Saturday night. Kevin Durant scored 29 points, Kyrie Irving scored 25, Joe Harris scored 19, and Blake Griffin scored 18 to lead the way for the Nets.
Those players were four of the Nets’ five starters. The other starter played just 43 seconds.
James Harden left with a hamstring injury before Brooklyn even scored a point, and he was ruled out for the game shortly after heading to the locker room.
James Harden is heading to the locker room with an apparent hamstring injury pic.twitter.com/r8hmUGHF05
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 5, 2021
Harden left the arena during the game to get an MRI.
Harden has reportedly left the arena to receive an MRI, per TNT. https://t.co/FStkIKtQBU
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 6, 2021
The MRI results and severity of the injury are not known, but this is the same hamstring that kept Hamstring out for many games late in the regular season.
So, this is potentially a very big deal for the series, and for the playoffs as a whole- the Nets entered the series as NBA title favorites.
But it’s nice to still have two superstars in Durant and Irving (to go with Griffin playing more like his prime self again), as Saturday night’s game showed. They may have to carry the load a bit more if Harden is out.
Being up 1-0 in the series is already a big advantage too, of course. The Nets will look to make it a 2-0 series lead on Monday in Brooklyn.