It’s trade deadline week. You know, that special time of year where the actual basketball games being played seem to fall into the backdrop of wider league news regarding player movement. Today’s involved Danny Ainge adding a new skyscraper to the Salt Lake skyline, Boston (finally) getting a center of their own, and the leaders of the Eastern Conference rewarding themselves for a banner first half with a slice of red velvet cake.
The Nets, this year, have been there all along. The team’s not drawing many eyes right now other than those of its die-hards. Its not exactly asking for them either. The last time out, Brooklyn lost by 50+ for the third time this season.
But no matter the trade news, ominous injury designations, or level of nationwide interest, teams are playing on. The Nets and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers did so this evening, or at least the latter did.
After missing two games due to personal reasons, their offensive savant in Michael Porter Jr. returned to the starting lineup. Noah Clowney joined him, who sat out the last five contests. It’s worth noting that even with the Nets at full strength, they stuck with Nolan Traoré as their starting point guard this evening. Terance Mann didn’t play at all. Dëmin and Claxton also started.
However, “full strength” for these Nets still leaves them two or three weight classes behind Los Angeles. You could tell based on how each team got their first points too. Brooklyn tallied its first few on an open triple that required almost their entire team to set up. Los Angeles then got theirs with a circus shot from a well-defended Luka. Point blank, the guys in gold had more talent, and they made sure you knew it tonight.
The highlight plays for Los Angeles didn’t stop there. Brooklyn’s four first period turnovers and a 1-10 shooting start from deep both set the stage for showtime on Broadway. Los Angeles had an easy time getting out in space off the giveaways and long rebounds. They led 26-11 just over six minutes into the game, making nine of their first 11 shots.
Coming in for the starters a bit sooner than usual, Brooklyn’s bench mob, which included Day’Ron Sharpe, Ben Saraf, Ziaire Williams, and Cam Thomas alongside MPJ, didn’t fare too well. The Nets trailed by 22 after the first. The free flowing Lakers shot 15-18 from the field in the period. Yes, you read that right.
Sharpe cosplayed as the Bugatti under the mobile home during it, contributing with six points and four rebounds in the frame. He and Danny Wolf were the only ones not to post a double-digit +/- negative. On film, it looks like Doncic simply lost the rock here and Sharpe benefited with a scoop and score, but statistically, he gets credit for a steal and slam…
The second quarter brought us more of the same. That sounds run-of-the-mill, but what happened on the floor was anything but. The Lakers began it on a 21-7 run, allowing Los Angeles to double up Brooklyn less than halfway through the period. That boiled into a 69-40 advantage for LA at the break. For the Nets, it became “chose your fighter” with regard to jaw-dropping, hideous first half stats. They shot just 2-20 from deep, lost 20-3 in fast break points, and trailed by as many as 38 points.
It quickly became clear that for a second straight outing, we wouldn’t have a basketball game on our hands. We’d have a battle against the ghosts of the Barclays Center to avoid a historic defeat.
Thankfully, Ziaire Williams and Sharpe brought proton packs out in the second half. The duo off the bench combined for 14 points on a perfect 6-6 shooting in the third period. After a first half where doing so seemed impossible, Sharpe was +8 in the quarter while Williams was +9. Day’Ron managed to finish the game as a +14. Other bigs Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton were -17 and -30. Sharpe also finished with a season-high 19 points along with 14 rebounds and five assists.
Between his and ZDub’s efforts, the Nets managed to tread water in the third, even winning the period 34-31.
Still, staying afloat is only so impressive when your ship’s already been blown to smithereens. Neither the resurgent third quarter nor a modest fourth were enough to make this game again. While the Nets dolled up the score just before the final horn, they never threatened. Outside of Sharpe’s big night, silver linnings were difficult to come by. While Porter Jr. led the team with 21 points, he shot 0-9 from deep. The Flatbush Five combined to score just 28 points with 11 turnovers while shooting 11-32 from the field.
Fernández used the final frame to shuffle players in and out, using the space to experiment and develop. The Lakers ran HB dive over and over again, winding down the clock until it was safe to put Bronny James and old friend Drew Timme in the game. The arena erupted when the former checked in and finished off an alley-oop from Dalton Knecht.
That had to have been your queue to turn the game off if you by some mistake you hadn’t already.
Final: Los Angeles Lakers 125, Brooklyn Nets 109
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Brooklyn gets back on the road Thursday night for a quick stop in Orland to face the Magic. The Nets are 0-2 vs them so far this year. The latter loss was a game for the ages that saw Egor Dëmin steal one at the last minute, only for Paolo Banchero to steal it back in the last second. This will be contest no. 50 for the Nets and it tips off at 7:00 p.m. EST.