No Kyrie Irving tonight as Nets are back in Brooklyn to face the Bucks

The Nets are in a difficult space. They are coming off a game in which Kyrie Irving made his season debut with 22 points and combined with Kevin Durant’s 39-point effort to lead the Nets to a road win Wednesday at Indiana. Their 14-3 road record is the NBA’s best.

But the Nets (24-12) were the home team against the defending NBA champion Bucks (25-15) on Friday night at Barclays Center. In addition to Irving’s performance at Indiana, they got a second-half lift from DeAndre’ Bembry, and they figure to need another dose of what he provided to beat the Bucks.

The Bucks are coming off two straight home losses to the Pistons and Raptors, both losing teams. The Nets won't have Irving, who is ineligible for all games in New York and Toronto because he is not in compliance with the vaccine mandates in either city.

The Bucks also will be undermanned since Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Pat Connaughton and Grayson Allen are in health and safety protocols. In addition, Donte DiVincenzo (ankle) and Brook Lopez (back surgery) are out.

So that means the Bucks enter the game entirely counting on former two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to carry them, along with Khris Middleton. That pair combined to score 52 points and shoot 20-for-42 in the Bucks’ 127-104 season-opening win over the Nets in Milwaukee. It was the first meeting since the Nets lost to the Bucks in OT of Game 7 of their second-round playoff series last spring.

So the Nets’ 129-point output against the Pacers was their second-highest of the season next to the 131 points they scored in an overtime win against the Raptors. Earlier in the season when they had no access to the talents of Irving, the Nets hung their hat on their surprising defensive prowess. But their defense totally collapsed against the Pacers, yielding 73 first-half points.

Since Irving can't play against the Bucks, the Nets obviously hope for an improved defensive performance. Although Irving’s presence sparked the Nets’ offense in Indiana, the fact that the Nets overcame a 19-point third-quarter deficit was because they found their defense in the second half.

Asked what triggered the 48-23 finishing kick, James Harden said: "Our defense. Our physicality defensively. We were into bodies, we challenged their handle, and we rebounded the basketball. First half, they were comfortable, they were into the basket, they literally got what they wanted. Second half, it was the opposite. We got stops. Offensively, we did what we did, and that was a game-changer."

Although the focus was entirely on the return of Irving to the Nets’ lineup, the catalyst for the turnaround against the Pacers clearly was Bembry’s play. He entered the game for the first time with 8:01 left in the third quarter with the Nets trailing by 16. Bembry proceeded to score 12 points and shot 5-for-5, but he also sparked the Nets’ defensive resurgence, which allowed him to finish with a team-high plus-24 figure in his 20 minutes.

"DeAndre’ was out of the rotation to start the game," Nets coach Steve Nash said. "We wanted to change something. We threw him in the game, and he was outstanding. He changed the game.

"He made a huge impact. He was almost flawless — energy. Defensively, he was great no matter who his matchup was. He had steals, he had blocks, he had deflections. Offensively, he was near-perfect. Great performance. Proud of him.

"He’s played well for us this year. He didn’t deserve to not be in the rotation. We have to try different things with everybody back, and when we called him, he was ready and he came out and competed and was rewarded for it."

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.