The Brooklyn Nets (5-16) were coming off arguably their best win of the season when they beat the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, but they had a tough test on Wednesday at the Chicago Bulls (9-12). Brooklyn pulled off the feat of finally winning a game in front of their home crowd and on Wednesday, they had the chance to win two games in a row for the first time this season.
The Nets beat the Bulls 113-103 on the first game of a back-to-back, but it didn’t look like Brooklyn was conserving any energy for Thursday. Forward Michael Porter Jr. led the way for Brooklyn with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists as he continues the best season of his career while forward Noah Clowney had 20 points and seven rebounds of his own.
Brooklyn had to worry about stopping Bulls guard Josh Giddey, but he still went off for a triple-double of 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Despite the fact that Giddey did his part for Chicago, the Nets continued playing team basketball on both ends of the floor. With that being said, here are three Nets takeaways from Wednesday’s win at the Bulls:
Michael Porter Jr. Continues Scoring Binge
At this point, it’s clear that the Nets offense looks completely different when Porter is on the floor compared to when he has been out of the lineup this season. Porter is now up to 25.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 38.5% from three-point land, but Brooklyn is also 4.9 points better with Porter on the floor, even when accounting for his defensive flaws.
Noah Clowney Wakes Up In The Second Half
While Clowney came into this season with his role undetermined as he originally came off the bench before Cam Thomas suffered his left hamstring strain, it seems like Clowney has solidified himself as part of an integral part of the rotation. After struggling with his shot in the first half, Clowney found his stride in the second half as he scored 18 of his 20 points in the final 24 minutes while shooting 6-of-8 from the field, including 6-of-7 from three-point range.
Nets Rookies Looking More Comfortable
While most of the talk regarding Brooklyn’s rookies has been about Egor Demin and Drake Powell, Danny Wolf and Ben Saraf have showed some signs of growth in the midst of some key injuries for the Nets. Demin and Wolf have displayed their ability to handle the basketball, shoot the three-pointer, and create some exciting plays that has Brooklyn’s fanbase fantasizing about what else could happen over the course of this season.