The Brooklyn Nets walked into the Smoothie King Center tonight, dragging behind them the longest losing streak in the NBA. The New Orleans Pelicans hosted while sporting the league’s worst record. Like a no stakes poker night, there wasn’t much to be gained, but everyone still had fun.
Alongside Nic Claxton, Michael Porter Jr., Egor Dëmin and Noah Clowney, Drake Powell started again this evening. As a result, Terance Mann came off the bench for the first time all year.
As designed, this game belonged to the kids early on. We saw an early activation for The Winter Soldier and Powell alike in game no. 38, as both rookies played crucial roles in helping the Nets avoid yet another slow start. In the game’s first five minutes, Powell tallied five points, two rebounds, and two assists. Dëmin reeled in three points with two dimes as well. He started the game a perfect 4-4 from deep…
And the Nets? They leapt out to 16-6 lead as a result. MPJ starting the game 3-3 from deep helped as well. Brooklyn ended up splashing six 3-pointers in the first quarter to tie their most in an opening frame this season.
The Pelicans weren’t so spry. There a misses, and then there are bricks, and the Pels might as well apply for jobs at LEGO with how many of the latter they had in the first. New Orleans shot a weak 12-30 from the field to begin the game, often hitting backboards, or nothing at all on a few occasions.
That said, the Pelicans made the most of their misses. Crashing the glass with five offensive boards in first quarter, New Orleans found its way to nine second chance points and within striking distance — even after Brooklyn’s Louisiana hot start. The Pelicans continued to ride that strategy as well, finishing tonight with 26 second chance points.
“Got to give them credit, because they play harder than us,” Fernández said. “They were more physical, and they fought those boards and they beat us. On my end, it’s extremely dissapointing because I keep telling our guys over and over again how important defensive rebounding is. We started the season as the worst defensive rebounding team in the history of the NBA. We got better for a stretch where we became the number one for a stretch, and we pushed up, moved out of last, and now in the last three games, we’re back to, like, really poor.”
Fernández would have more to say on the rebounding later, but in the second, the “pure hoopers” looked to have ownership over the period early on. Cam Thomas and Jordan Poole each began it dropping in a few circus shots, each more theatrical than the last. But as the game later slowed down, Brooklyn’s 3-point shooting followed. The Nets shot just 2-11 from deep in the second, and their long misses were essentially whistles in a New Orleans school yard, provoking the Pelicans to get out and run. The fast break points consequentially swung in their direction in the quarter by a five point margin and the Nets could only trot into the break with a one point lead.
All the while, Powell and Dëmin continued to hoop, putting together their best half of ball as Brooklyn’s backcourt of the future. While Trey Murphy III led all scorers with 18 points at the half, Dëmin led the Nets with 12 points after shooting 4-5 from deep and adding four assists. Powell nabbed seven points, four rebounds, two assists and went into the tunnel as a team best +9.
But Brooklyn’s comfort on the road could only last so long. Off another offensive rebound, Jeremiah Fears nailed a deep triple from the top of the key to tie the game up early in the third. The strongest Pelican also rediscovered his wings in the period…
Zion Williamson had just nine points at the break, with both Powell and Nolan Traoré putting him on skates in separate occasions…
…but successfully sought revenge with 14 points in the third while shooting a perfect 6-6 from the field. That brought New Orleans into a dead heat with the Nets, as period alone saw 13 lead changes. Thomas introduced us to the last one with a buttery, step-back triple. Once again, Thomas only played a handful of minutes beyond the third, finishing with 16 points and five assists while shooting 6-15 from the field.
Still, the LSU product made the most of his scraps adjacent to his collegiate home. Thomas ignited a 10-2 Brooklyn run to begin the final frame, leveraging around the defense before assisting on a pair of made triples that helped put his team up by eight.
In response, New Orleans took another route, continuing to probe inside, and after digging for a few possessions, they eventually found their way to the line. After Murphy III nailed a three without about five to go, New Orleans had retaken the lead.
As the score remained tight and time trickled away, Dëmin proved that his blood still runs ice cold even down south…
But Saddiq Bey had an answer, or perhaps just an answered prayer…
It was second chance points that helped New Orleans stay afloat early, and those three, plus another pair a few seconds later, helped the Pelicans get all the way to shore with a win.
On the Pels’ next possession, Brooklyn forced a miss after Murphy III’s clanked a three off the back iron. However, Bey was first to the rock again, and then wasted little flushing it home. That gave New Orleans a two-point lead with 21 seconds to go.
After that point, the Nets had no choice but to play the foul game. To their credit, they did so well, at one point possession the ball, down three, and with four seconds to spare. However, a wayward inbound pass broke up whatever chance Brooklyn had at getting a clean shot off. Instead, they had to settle for a final, unbalanced heave from Porter Jr. that never got close.
Fernández, however, felt the game was lost elsewhere.
“I think that play doesn’t matter,” Fernández said of the final shot. “I think what really matters is the 33 second chance points. We still got three up on the length of the floor, a play that we run and we know, because when we run out of timeouts, you have to have something that everybody knows. The team actually kind of ran it. Nic couldn’t catch it, and then Mike ends up shooting a three, so we give ourselves a chance. That’s good, good for them. It was a little lucky, but we still shot the three to tie.”
Final: New Orleans Pelicans 116, Brooklyn Nets 113
Milestone Watch
Drake Powell scored a career-high 16 points tonight against New Orleans with five rebounds and two assists. Along with Egor Dëmin’s 17 points on 5-9 3PT, they are the first Nets rookie duo with 15+ points each in a game since 1/15/22 (Cam Thomas and Kessler Edwards vs. NOP).
Egor Dëmin had 12 points on 4-5 3PT tonight against the Pelicans. It is his 10th game this season with at least four 3-pointers made, passing Kerry Kittles (nine in 1996-97) for the most by a rookie in franchise history.
Injury Report
Ziaire Williams missed his third straight game tonight with an undisclosed illness. Feel better soon, Z!
Tim Capstraw Hits 2K
Tonight marked the 2,000th straight game called by legendary Nets radio man and occasional broadcaster Tim Capstraw. His streak started on October 30th, 2002. The Nets starting five that evening included Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Kerry Kittles, and Dikembe Mutombo. Congrats, Capper!
Getty Images
The Nets will play host to the Chicago Bulls Friday evening, and then again on Sunday afternoon back in their neck of the woods. Brooklyn already took one from Bulls earlier this year and have won five of their last eight contests against them. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. EST.