Kenny Atkinson promised pregame that the Brooklyn Nets would one day \u201cbreak through.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re just waiting for that, like \u2018When is that gonna happen?\u2019 And you look at it like, \u2018Man, is it ever going to happen?\u2019 I\u2019m sure Jordi is going, \u2018Man, everyone is saying it\u2019ll happen,\u2019\u201d he said in answer to our Lucas Kaplan\u2019s question. \u201cThey play so hard. It\u2019s eventually going to happen with the talent\u2026They got really good coaching, good coaching staff, good front office, it\u2019ll break through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sure, it\u2019s easy to say that when you\u2019re at the helm of a 37-win team, but Atkinson knows what he\u2019s talking about. A billion years ago when he was at the helm for Brooklyn, the Nets lost 62 and then 54 games during his first two seasons. Then, in his third year, they snatched the sixth seed in the East with a 42-40 record.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat third year when we broke through and made the playoffs, it was almost doubly rewarding, because you went through these real struggles and tough times,\u201d he went on. \u201cMan, I\u2019ll never forget when we clinched the playoffs, it was like you\u2019re winning the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Atkinson\u2019s words should provide some comfort for Nets fans. It\u2019s been a rocky, uncompetitive season, but it hasn\u2019t been a waste.<\/p>\n
However, today\u2019s game was another reminder of how far they still need to go to get that \u201cchampionship\u201d feeling\u2026and get in the same stratosphere of an fighting for an actual one.<\/p>\n
The Nets started this one with their usual group but with Terance Mann in for the resting Egor D\u00ebmin and Day\u2019Ron Sharpe in for Nic Claxton. Clax sat this one out with a right thumb sprain.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn also went up against the Cavs without their top rim defender a little under two weeks ago, surrendering 58 paint points in the process. The repeat formula rendered and a similar result, at least early on. The Cavs went ahead on the scoreboard quickly with 10 points inside less than five minutes into the game. Brooklyn exes James Harden and Jarrett Allen collectively picked on the Nets again, combining for 12 first period points while shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from deep.<\/p>\n
However, the Cavs weren\u2019t the only ones to benefit from Claxton\u2019s absence. After a slow first few minutes of play from both teams, Grant Nelson and Danny Wolf came in looking to disrupt the contest in more ways than one.<\/p>\n
Seeing the chemistry and effective play of this unexpected paring was anything but for Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I mean, you already can see the chemistry between Ben [Saraf] and Grant, and even Grant and Danny,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cThey played summer league together. He\u2019s been part of the club, you know, the extension of our coaching staff in Long Island, working with them. He\u2019s familiar with what we\u2019re doing, and he\u2019s just a very good basketball player, high IQ, he\u2019s got a great feel for the game, and plays extremely hard. So, you put all those things together, and you know he\u2019s played very well in the two chances.\u201d<\/p>\n
In five minutes of first period burn, Nelson and Wolf were +6 and combined for 14 points, two steals, and two assists\u2026<\/p>\n
In what was his second career game, Nelson finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three blocks, a steal, and an assist in 20 minutes. Nelson, 23, had been on a minutes restriction in Long Island for the last 16 games he played there. Nelson had missed seven weeks earlier as the Nets performance team treated knee soreness he had suffered since his freshman year at North Dakota State. Those restrictions appear to an end. Since Wednesday, Nelson has played 83 minutes over four games in five days, two for Long Island, two for Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
Wolf ended up having quite the afternoon as well. He finished with a 23\/5\/9 line, topped off with a buzzer-beating three at the end of the first, and some closing minutes with the starters. He even defended the rim well during a few sequences. It was his best outing since the Washington punt game in early February.<\/p>\n
But aside from rookie highlights, the Nets also had more pep in their step than Cleveland, and frankly, that mattered more than anything else.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn\u2019s newfound length via Nelson stalled the Cleveland offense midway through the second, and after a corner three from Nolan Traor\u00e9, Brooklyn went ahead with about four to play in the half. With each stop, the Nets gave themselves a chance to get out and push against a Cleveland team at the tail end of a road trip and looking like it. They grabbed eight fast break points in the second, and a 52-46 lead at halftime. Even with just two points to his name, Ziaire Williams was also a game-high +15 at that point.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said the length, but it\u2019s also how locked in they were in communication,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cI think Z [Ziaire Williams] was the one right there defensively, got so many deflections. Just being disruptive. We\u2019re disruptive\u2026So great job by that second unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allen and Harden again put in Cleveland\u2019s first nine points of the next half, but this time, Brooklyn managed to keep pace with a flurry of threes from Porter Jr. and Noah Clowney. The Nets didn\u2019t give up their lead until the 5:10 mark of the third after Sam Merrill nailed his first triple of the game.<\/p>\n
Wolf also returned with more highlights in the second half\u2026<\/p>\n
But Brooklyn\u2019s second unit couldn\u2019t pack the same punch it had in the first half. The beard had an easier time burrowing through Brooklyn\u2019s defense. Saraf\u2019s lack of spacing hurt the Nets at the other end as well. He even had a Ben Simmons moment near the end of the third. He couldn\u2019t hit the wide open three the Cleveland defense dared him to take, but at least he shot it, right?<\/p>\n
Seven lead changes in the final period\u2019s opening minutes teased a fun finish few, if anyone, expected us to get. However, the suspense could only last so long. The back-and-forth action ceased in the frame\u2019s latter half as Brooklyn\u2019s offense ran out of answers after Harden got back to dicing up the Net defense. Evan Mobley, who seemed to be the tiredest of Cleveland\u2019s snoozy crew this afternoon, woke up in the period as well, working his way to eight points in the post.<\/p>\n
But even as the Cavaliers slowly sailed to a win, the Nets kept the pressure up. Traor\u00e9 pitched in four points in the fourth, including two via a tough fend-off and turn around finish. MPJ added 10, hitting some of the most \u201cMPJ\u201d shots you\u2019ll ever see. Traor\u00e9 finished with 17 points and two assists while shooting 7-15 from the field. Porter Jr. tallied 26 points, grabbed five boards, three steals, and two assists while shooting 5-8 from deep.<\/p>\n
The Nets even had the ball while down three with 22 seconds to go after Cleveland committed an eight second violation. However, the Cavs opted to foul while up three every chance they had. Then, while playing the free throw game, they sank just enough looks to eventually ice the game.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s eight loses in a row. It\u2019s not the \u201cbreak through,\u201d but we\u2019ll settle for progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, we competed,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cThat was our main goal, to give ourselves a chance, and I\u2019m proud of the way we played. We played like a basketball team. I\u2019m proud of the group. Now, it\u2019s go tomorrow, watch some film, clean out some stuff that we could have done better. Right now, it\u2019s night and day, compared to what we went through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Final: Cleveland Cavaliers 106, Brooklyn Nets 102<\/p>\n
With 11 points, four rebounds, one assist and three blocks in tonight\u2019s game, Grant Nelson became the first player in franchise history with 10+ PTS, 5+ AST and 5+ BLK across their first two career games.Nelson also became the second Net to record multiple blocks in consecutive games to begin their career (Brook Lopez, three straight in 2008) and the second Net with 5+ blocks through two career games (Jarrett Allen, 2017)Danny Wolf had a season-high 23 points against Cleveland with nine rebounds, five assists and two steals, becoming the fourth rookie in franchise history to reach such minimums in a game (Chris Morris: 1x in 1988-89, Mike O\u2019Koren: 2x in 1980-81 and Bernard King: 4x in 1977-78).Danny Wolf\u2019s 12 points and three 3-pointers in the first half were both the second most in a half in his career, trailing only his highs of 17 points and four 3PM in the first half on 11\/29 at Milwaukee.<\/p>\n As mentioned above, Nic Claxton missed tonight\u2019s game with a right thumb sprain. We know he\u2019s been dealing with that for a while now, but Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez mentioned pregame that he got hit against the Spurs.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be out tonight, and then we\u2019ll see how he feels after, so there\u2019s no timetable,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez also added.<\/p>\n
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