March 28, 2026, 11:56 a.m. ET

The Brooklyn Nets (17-57) had one game left on their west coast road trip before they could head back home to play for the majority of the rest of the season. Brooklyn had arguably its toughest matchup of the road trip as they visited the Los Angeles Lakers (48-26) on Friday and while the Nets played well for the first three quarters, they couldn’t come away from Los Angeles with the win.

The Nets lost to the Lakers 116-99 as Los Angeles pulled away in the fourth quarter thanks to the efforts of Austin Reaves and his 15 points in the quarter. Forward Josh Minott led the way for the Nets with his 18 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench while center Nic Claxton had one of his better games of the season with 16 points and seven rebounds.

The main reason that the Nets were going to have a tough time pulling off the upset on Friday is due to what superstar Luka Doncic is capable of doing when he gets going. As NBA fans have seen over the past few seasons and beyond, Doncic dropped 41 points and eight rebounds as he was able to get whatever shot he wanted against Brooklyn’s team defense.

The Nets did not roll over for the Lakers, however, as they forced Los Angeles into committing 15 turnovers, leading to 19 points for Brooklyn. The Nets just couldn’t find a way to make shots in the fourth quarter as they shot just 6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-8 from behind the three-point line in the period, just as the Lakers started to get more production from Reaves and LeBron James.

Similar to how Brooklyn has been operating since the team has been officially eliminated from postseason contention, players like Claxton, Williams, and Noah Clowney did not play in the fourth quarter. Be that as it may, the Nets can return home for a six-game homestand that will begin on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings so they will be able to look forward to going back to a familiar setting for some time.

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!Josh Minott Shines Off The Bench

Minott has shown plenty of what he can do since coming to the Nets via a trade from the Boston Celtics prior to the February trade deadline so him playing well is not a surprise at this point. However, Minott once again proved in this matchup against the Lakers that he could be one of the pivotal members of the rotation next season whether Brooklyn is trying to compete for a playoff spot or not.

Ziaire Williams Continues Impressive Performance

Since the Nets were officially eliminated from postseason contention a few weeks ago, players like Williams have had the chance to show what they can do in a larger role. Williams has been on a tear lately as he’s averaging 13.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 50.5% from the field and 48.8% from three-point land thus far in March.

Nic Claxton Bounces Back In A Big Way

Claxton is one of the veterans on the team that has had his minutes managed for a variety of reasons since the team is no longer able to contend for the postseason, but he still showed what he can do when he’s flowing. Claxton dropped 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in just 23 minutes against the frontcourt combination of Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes.