Now that the NBA’s trade deadline has come and gone, Nic Claxton can get back to knowing he is expected to be a big part of this ongoing Brooklyn rebuild.
The 6-foot-11 center certainly played the role of foundation piece Monday night on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.
Claxton scored a season-high 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out four assists as the Nets won two in a row for the first time in the new year with a 123-115 triumph over the Chicago Bulls in front of 17,038 at Downtown’s Barclays Center.
“His game was huge tonight,” gushed Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernández.
“That’s the Nic that we wanna see, even though sometimes, you’re not gonna score as much, but the intentions were very good.”
No one can question Claxton’s intentions since he arrived here in 2019 as the Nets’ second-round pick.
The University of Georgia alum spent his first five seasons establishing himself as one of the more athletic pivot men in the league, be it as a defender, a rebounder or a deft passer out of double coverage.
Scoring, however, hasn’t been at the top of the list in describing what Fernández would call Claxton’s “superpowers”.
That’s what likely made him a coveted player for NBA teams chasing titles and playoff spots as last Thursday’s deadline approached.
He’s unselfish and willing to do the dirty work for the scorers around him, dating back to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and, more recently, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Michael Porter Jr.
But Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks, who inked Claxton to a reported four-year, $100 million deal two summers ago, understood his value.
He wasn’t willing to part with the longest-tenured player on the youngest roster in the NBA.
And Claxton delivered a keepsake performance.
“We just executed. The ball was popping,” he said.
After putting up 15 points prior to intermission to help the Nets (15-37) to a 60-54 lead, Claxton slammed home an alley-oop dunk off a feed from fellow veteran Terance Mann before drilling only his third 3-pointer of the year, a 25-footer, that gave Brooklyn a 71-59 cushion.
The Nets opened up a 15-point advantage in the third quarter before the Bulls (24-30) reeled them back in.
Rob Dillingham’s six-foot floater knotted the contest at 89-89 entering the final period before Claxton got going again.
He immediately snapped the deadlock with a layup and fed Ziaire Williams for a couple of baskets as Brooklyn pulled in front to stay, 103-99 with just over seven minutes to play.
Nic Claxton wants some love after drilling only his third 3-pointer of the season Monday vs. Chicago in Downtown Brooklyn. AP Photo by Yuki Iwamura
Claxton added a pair of free throws with under three minutes left to make it 115-107.
“His mindset, super aggressive from the beginning, all the way until the end,” said Fernández after watching Marks waive sharp-shooter Cam Thomas and injured vet Haywood Highsmith last Thursday.
“I think that that’s been his best game in the last few weeks,” added the second-year coach.
The performance came on a night the Nets were without Porter Jr. due to right-knee tendinitis.
Fast-emerging rookie Egor Dёmin also took a break to rest after managing only four points on 2-of-8 shooting, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range, in Saturday’s 127-113 win over visiting Washington.
“(Claxton) does so much, not just this, all these points and everything,” Fernández reminded everyone.
Noah Clowney scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including four 3-balls, and first-rounder Drake Powell added 14 off the bench for Brooklyn, which will try to close out a perfect three-game homestand Wednesday night vs. Indiana.
“Just play hard and play with purpose,” said Powell, who watched fellow rookies Danny Wolf and Nolan Traoré put up 13 points apiece as starters.
Traoré dished out a career-best 13 assists and Williams finished with 11 points for the Nets, who haven’t won three in a row since Dec. 21-27.
Anfernee Simons poured in 23 points and Collin Sexton added 21 for Chicago, which suffered its fifth consecutive defeat and eighth in the last nine games.
Tip-off at Barclays on Wednesday is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Nets rookie Nolan Traoré scored 13 points and handed out 13 assists as Brooklyn held off Chicago at Barclays Center Monday. AP Photo by Yuki Iwamura
NOTHING BUT NET: Claxton’s dead-eye shooting led Brooklyn to a 51% effort from the field, including 48% (12-of-25) from long range. … Rookie Ben Saraf went 1-of-6 from the floor en route to three points in 13 minutes off the pine. … After hosting the Pacers, the Nets will get more than a week off for the annual All-Star break. Brooklyn will restart in Cleveland on Feb. 19 to kick off a three-game trip that also sees it visit Oklahoma City and Atlanta on the 20th and 22nd, respectively.