Kevin Durant praises the impact of Jacque Vaughn as Nets continue winning streak vs. Bucks

After a statement 118-100 win vs. the Bucks Friday night, Kevin Durant complimented the impact that head coach Jacque Vaughn has had on the team since being promoted to his current role.

The longtime Nets assistant was made the interim coach – and then the permanent coach soon after – following the team’s 2-5 start under Steve Nash, and the 47 year-old has helped turn around a season that looked doomed not that long ago.

With Vaughn as head coach, the Nets are an impressive 19-7, and Durant shed light on how the coach has got the team riding an eight-game win streak.

Kevin Durant praised the impact Jacque Vaughn has had on the Nets on Friday night

‘I want to say almost a month ago, Jacque put up the box-out stats for us, and a lot of guys didn’t like where they were as far as percentage of boxing out,’ he said Friday after the game. 

‘Not even grabbing rebounds, just putting a body on somebody, and I think since then we’ve been making a conscious effort to touch somebody up when they’re running to the glass and all of us trying to gang rebound as well.

‘Last few games have been solid for us. I think everybody’s locked in on that side of the game and that’s something we can’t have slippage on. We have to be there every possession.’

Durant has averaged 28.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this month for the Nets

Matched up against a big Milwaukee team on Friday with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez in the paint, the Nets showed they’ve been taking Vaughn’s message to heart.

Brooklyn matched Milwaukee 45 to 45 on the boards, and only allowed one more offensive rebound than they grabbed themselves (13 to 12). 

Key to that effort on the boards was Kyrie Irving, who admitted after the game that he was ranked second-to-last on the box-out stats revealed by Vaughn.

In an off shooting night vs. the Bucks, he grabbed nine rebounds. 

‘When I’m able to hold myself accountable, Jacque’s able to hold me accountable, my teammates are able to hold me accountable, then it makes it easier for us to hold each other accountable when we’re not doing the little things,’ he said after the Bucks win.

Irving shot just 6-18 from the field but brought down eight rebounds in the impressive win

‘These are things we have to do every night to win, so boxing out is definitely something that I have to do in order for us to be successful as a team.’

While the Nets’ offensive talent was never in question, their defense has cleaned up dramatically under Vaughn, who has drawn widespread support from Nets players.

The coach has made a habit of calling quick timeouts when the team is performing poorly on defense, which both Irving and Durant have praised.

With the win Friday night, the Nets have climbed just two games behind the first-place Celtics in the Eastern Conference, with an opportunity to leapfrog the Cavs in the No. 3 spot if they beat Cleveland on Monday.