This would not be the Los Angeles Lakers-Brooklyn Nets matchup of years past.
It was not star-studded national television, so Dennis Schröder and Kyrie Irving would not make waves by getting each other ejected, plus LeBron James was out with a groin injury. So were the rest of Los Angeles’ front-court regulars, including Dorian Finney-Smith, who received a “thank you” photo on the Jumbotron but no other attention playing against his former team.
Brooklyn was also short-handed, resting Cam Thomas and Trendon Watford on the first night of a back-to-back. But, after he powered through a pregame “questionable” tag, Barclays Center, filled with yellow, was all set for the Luka Dončić Show.
So was Brooklyn’s defense. His primary defenders, Keon Johnson and Ziaire Williams, were often too small to prevent Dončić from bruising his way to the paint...
...but Dončić rarely saw his primary defender on an island. Despite clearly being less than 100%, unable to blow past anybody, Jordi Fernández treated him with all the respect in the world. There were constant double-teams with or without a screen, physicality that bothered the superstar into a technical foul, and when he did get a 1-on-1 matchup, it was Nic Claxton on a switch.
Dončić has praised Clax in the past for his defensive abilities in isolation, and on Monday night, that matchup was Brooklyn’s best chance to stop Los Angeles’ offense w/ Dončić on the court, despite the rebounding opportunities it afforded L.A...
Ultimately, the Nets were able to slow both Dončić and L.A.’s rebounding attack, giving up just eight o-boards on the night, grabbing 16 of their own.
And while Dončić made plenty of wonderful passes to spring open shots or 4-on-3 opportunities, he’d put up 22/11/12 on 8-of-26 shooting and five turnovers in a bloated performance.
Brooklyn trailed by a dozen after one quarter, but found themselves up 48-47 at the halftime break. Nothing much changed about their offense, except shots started to fall after a first quarter so bricky they even shot 1-of-6 from the stripe.
Cam Johnson (18/7/5/3) and Keon Johnson led the way early, as Keon made his first three triples en route to 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Their marksmanship in the second quarter set the tone for a third quarter in which the Nets scored 33 points, with contributions from all...
Brooklyn’s bench totaled 48 points, but Tyrese Martin (14) and Noah Clowney (19), the latter leading the team in scoring in his third game since returning from injury, really shined, combining for seven triples.
On the rare night where the Nets had a fuller complement of players, their depth made the difference. Luka’s best stretch of play was in the third quarter, but he couldn’t will the Lakers in front, as Brooklyn maintained an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Said Fernández: “Tyrese really helped us, he shot it well from three, Noah off the bench — I thought all the group off the bench was good, Day’Ron with seven rebounds in 16 minutes, 17 minutes, so I think everybody brought positives to the game.“
That includes D’Angelo Russell, who had a rough shooting night against his former team, just 2-of-9. Still, that second one was a huge triple, putting Brooklyn up six with just one minute left. One possession later, he missed a potential dagger, but Ziaire Williams cleaned it up to take the lead to two possessions...
“I think his offensive rebound was the key,” said Brooklyn’s head coach. “Because, you know, we go back to the Charlotte game, and yes, we did defensive rebound, but our ability to crash and get those second-chance points, we didn’t put effort into it.”
Los Angeles kept their hopes alive until the bitter end, thanks to Cam Johnson missing two late free throws, but Dončić missed a desperate 85-footer short, and all the Lakers fans at Barclays Center would have to trudge home dissatisfied.
Some Nets fans too, given the team’s current position in the NBA Draft Lottery. Alas, that’s a worry for another day, as Brooklyn’s seven-game losing streak was put to an end on Monday night.
**Final Score: Brooklyn Nets 111, Los Angeles Lakers 108**