Nets offense at its best on the move and not in iso mode

The Nets were happy to get out of Boston with their playoff lives intact, a 3-1 lead over the Celtics and the chance to close out their first-round series Tuesday night at Barclays Center. In Game 4, their offense was off the charts, producing 141 points, an unimaginable 143.9 offensive rating and hitting shots at a rate of 57.8% from the field, 59.3% from three-point range and 96.7% from the foul line.

Even though the Big 3 of Kevin Durant (42), Kyrie Irving (39) and James Harden (23) scored 104 of their points, it was enough that the supporting cast totaled another 37, including 14-point efforts by Joe Harris and Bruce Brown. When the ball moves and the Nets don’t play strictly isolation ball, their offense can thrive at historic levels.

"I think we’re more efficient shooting when we’re really spreading guys out, moving the ball, playing with a lot more pace," Harris said after shootaround on Tuesday. "I think when we’re inefficient or not as good offensively is when we have a tendency to be a little bit more iso heavy. We have the ability to go and do that, but we’re just not at our best offensively when that’s the case."

The Celtics are without Jaylen Brown, who underwent season-ending wrist surgery, and in Game 4 they did not have Kemba Walker, who has a deep bone bruise on one knee, and Robert Williams III, who has a sprained left ankle. Those two also were expected to miss Game 5.

Asked if it’s easy to feel like they have the series wrapped up, Harris said, "We definitely don’t think about it like that. It’s obviously difficult being shorthanded. We’ve experienced that through the regular season. But at the same time, it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up. They have a lot of capable players, they have young guys that have come in and played really well. You definitely can’t take anybody for granted that’s on their roster. They have a lot of really quality players regardless of whatever their experience might be in the playoffs."

Game 4 represented just the 12th game together for the Nets’ Big 3. And the last four of those games have come in this first-round series. So they are a work in progress at best.

"I feel like we’re certainly getting better," said Harris, who could be considered part of the Nets' Big 4 since he won his second three-point shooting percentage title this season. "We’re making improvements, we’re feeding off one another a lot better than we were, say, earlier in the regular season. Just the ability to read and react offensively and defensively. I think that just comes with time playing together. It’ll only get better the more time you have, too. But we’re definitely trying to piece the puzzle together a little bit better every day right now. It’s hard to say necessarily what our best might be, but we’re definitely striving to just keep improving day by day."

Close-out games always are difficult, but the Celtics have to be somewhat less confident after their Game 4 loss at home, especially after how well the Nets shot the ball. No team could handle the type of shooting display the Nets put on Sunday night.

"I would say it’s certainly deflating," Harris said. "When a team is shooting the ball well and you feel like you’re in a good spot defensively, it seems like the momentum or whatever it might be, there are very few things that you can do. We do hit a lot of tough shots, but at the same time, we’re able to get guys room-and-rhythm looks because of the firepower we have."

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.