Credit to the fearless Brooklyn Nets fans who pushed through another late night, staying up into the early hours of Saturday to watch a team grind through the final game of a rough West Coast road trip.
On Friday, the Nets dropped their 10th straight, despite a valiant effort, falling 116-99 to the red-hot Los Angeles Lakers. With the loss, Brooklyn’s position in the race to the bottom didn’t change. They remain in second place in the Tankathon rankings, but they’re now only a single game out of the top
seed.
Brooklyn got off to a rough start off the opening tip, and LA took full advantage of it. Brooklyn opened the game by missing their first five attempts from beyond the arc, while the Lakers opened the game on a 15-4 run.
By the end of the first quarter, though, the Nets had settled in, trimming the deficit to five at 35-30. Josh Minott led the charge with eight points off the bench while knocking down two of his three attempts from 3-point range.
He ultimately finished the night with 18 points in 26 minutes, shooting 50% from the field and 44% from beyond the 3-point stripe. Since being acquired from the Boston Celtics in exchange for $110,000 in cash —the minimum required to complete a trade— and given an extended look, Minott has thrived in Brooklyn.
Prior to tonight, the 6’8” 23-year-old had averaged 13.6 points, three rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in 24.2 minutes throughout his last five outings. He shot 51% from the field over that span while knocking down 15 of his 29 attempts from 3-point territory (51.7%).
Entering halftime, the Nets were trailing by just two, 61-59.
Nic Claxton finished the half as the team’s leading scorer with 12 points on 86% shooting, adding five rebounds and a block while controlling the interior. Brooklyn closed the half with a jolt as first-round rookie Nolan Taoré drilled a 27-footer at the buzzer after an errant pass from Noah Clowney.
Traoré had nine points at the break, though it came on inefficient shooting (4-of-12 from the field, 1-of-4 from three). By the end of the night, he had contributed seven assists and four steals, though he struggled with turnovers, committing six.
Off the bench, fellow rookie Ben Saraf provided a strong spark, finishing the half with six points in eight minutes on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, along with two rebounds and two assists.
It continues to be an impressive stretch for the Johannesburg, South Africa native. In the team’s last outing against the Golden State Warriors, the rookie tallied 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting (2-of-3 from three), while adding seven assists, four rebounds, and two steals, which followed his career-high 22 points against the Sacramento Kings with five assists to boot.
Overall, in the second quarter, Brooklyn outscored Los Angeles 29-26 to trim their deficit. It was a very strong offensive half for the Lakers, converting on 56.1% of their field goal attempts while committing just six turnovers. Defensively, though, they struggled, falling to make second efforts with rotations and particularly box-outs down low.
The primary reason Los Angeles still held the lead at the break was Luke Dončić, who poured in 24 first-half points before finishing the night with 41 points over 39 minutes.
“Don’t be discouraged, because you may play a great possession and he [Dončić] will still make the shot,” said Nets head coach Jordi Fernández when speaking to reporters before the game. “I think the best defenders in the world move on to the next possession, and that is extremely important. You’ve got to show him different looks, you’ve got to be very aggressive.”
Ziaire Williams also continued his strong run of play, finishing with 16 points in 25 minutes on 43% shooting from the field while adding two rebounds, two assists, and three steals, while showcasing maximum effort on the defensive end of the floor against Dončić.
Dončić was assessed a technical foul in the third quarter after things got chippy between him and Williams. If uphelp, it would be his 16th of the season, automatically triggering a one-game suspension for the six-time All-Star.
Entering the final frame, Brooklyn trailed just 85-84 as Los Angeles struggled to pull ahead of the league’s youngest team, while the Nets kept competing at a high level. The team outscored the Lakers in the quarter once again, 25-24.
Down the stretch, Terance Mann made several clutch defensive plays, including a stellar block against Jared Vanderbilt with 6:04 to play while Brooklyn trailed, 98-92.
However, a quick 10-2 burst by Los Angeles near the first mark created just enough separation for Brooklyn to trail for the rest of the night before officially falling, 116-99.
Overall, it was a performance that fans can appreciate. The team went punch-for-punch with one of the league’s best, and when the tank matters more than ever, the loss also helped them in that department.
Final: Los Angeles Lakers 116, Brooklyn Nets 99
Milestone Watch
- Ziaire Williams logged 16 points vs. LAL to extend his career-long streak to five straight games with 15+ points. He also has three steals, extending his career-long streak to 14 straight games with a steal. It is the longest by a Net since D’Angelo Russell (16) in 2019.
Next Up
The Nets return home on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings, with the focus solely on the tank.
Sacramento enters the weekend at 17-55 with the team’s next matchup being on Saturday evening against the Atlanta Hawks. Brooklyn, meanwhile, sits at 17-57, one game behind the 16-58 Indiana Pacers in the race for the best lottery odds, who lost 114-113 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
