NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (7-19) were going to have a tougher schedule for the rest of December after getting some easier matchups heading into the long break because of the NBA Cup. Brooklyn had the chance to use the home crowd to their advantage in a matchup against the Miami Heat (15-12), but the Nets did not get the result that they were hoping for.
The Nets lost to the Heat on Thursday 106-95 as Brooklyn was unable to continue their consistency in the fourth quarter after playing well through the first 36 minutes. Forward Michael Porter Jr. had 28 points and six rebounds, but he struggled to the tune of 10-of-24 shooting from the field. Center Nic Claxton had a near triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists while rookie Egor Demin had 14 points and two rebounds.
Brooklyn had a tough time defending Norman Powell (24 points), Kel’el Ware (22), and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (19) and the Nets paid the price for being unable to limit that trio. The Nets had the chance to finish a game against one of the better opponents on their schedule this season, but the execution wasn’t there. Here are three Nets takeaways from Thursday’s loss to the Heat:
Michael Porter Jr. Struggles Again
For the second straight game, Porter shot less than 42.0% from the field, but because the Heat are a better team than the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nets had more trouble winning the game. Porter has been incredible for Brooklyn this season, to the point that some people are wondering if he will get some All-Star votes, but it’s clear that if Porter struggles in matchups against some of the better teams in the league, Brooklyn will struggle to win those matchups.
Nic Claxton Almost Notches Another Triple-Double
While the focus of this game is the Nets losing, center Nic Claxton did a great job of doing almost everything on the floor as he finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and three blocks. Despite going against Bam Adebayo for the majority of the game, Claxton held his own defending Adebayo and was able to have an impact on the game on both ends of the floor, similar to what he has been doing this entire season.
Fourth Quarter Remains An Issue
While the Nets have been playing better as of late, part of the reason for that improved performance had to do with the schedule getting easier for them in terms of playing teams with losing records. Brooklyn has also improved in certain areas that plagued them earlier in the season, but the fourth quarter is one of those aspects has more work to do, especially against teams like the Heat that can play different ways depending on the flow of the game.