The Brooklyn Nets eyed and poked at their first win of the season again tonight, but in the end, sent it back to the kitchen.
However, the Nets did find uncharted territory: a double-digit lead, which occurred immediately. Over the first four games, they were a league-worst -41 in the first quarter, but opened up Wednesday’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks with a 12-0 burst, taking advantage of a Hawks defense that looked out of sync rotating to the paint and slow to the ball on the perimeter. Sound
like another team you know?
But, like an inexperienced long distance runner, they eventually started to huff, puff and recognize they didn’t have the chops to keep up their pace.
Atlanta responded with an extended 43-17 run — even as Trae Young limped off the floor with a knee injury in the middle of it — finishing off almost every fast break opportunity the Nets kicked their way. Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s own offense curled back up into its shell; that said, it did still have its fair share of entertaining possessions…
With Brooklyn’s non-shooting personnel and inability to put pressure on the rim, the offense looked looked like an off-track rollercoaster almost all night. Ball-handlers lucky enough to find their way into the paint often lofted the ball out to the perimeter whether a shooter was there to catch it or not, much like a pressured quarterback heaving the ball downfield. Cutters occasionally ran into each other rather than open spaces on the floor.
While his defensive woes persisted, Porter Jr. was Brooklyn’s top grenade heaver during many of those sequences, opening the night 6-7 from the field. He almost singlehandedly kept the Nets in the game, or at least “in the game,” by their newfound standards. By halftime, he was up to a game-high 17 points with the Nets behind by a 64-51 score.
The second half followed a similar script. Brooklyn put together a quick run, only for Atlanta to find its footing after a few jogs up and down the court. Frustration boiled over at the four-minute mark of the third. Following a a timeout, a Day’Ron Sharpe turnover turned into a Hawks jam at the other end. Jordi Fernández immediately called another timeout.
Porter Jr. notched 30 points before the nine minute mark of the third. His pursuit toward a career-high scoring evening was perhaps the only entertainment in game that otherwise felt two hours spent in a dentist’s office waiting room. Old school fans hoping to see their team compete were left disappointed, as the Nets stayed at an arms distance almost all night. Tank commanders and rookie stock brokers didn’t get much to gauge either, as Egor Dëmin combined for Ben Saraf 28 minutes while Danny Wolf and Nolan Traoré ate some DNPs.
Brooklyn chipped it down to seven with about four minutes to go, and then traded shots with Atlanta as four turned to two. There, a Nic Claxton pump and drive followed by some Porter Jr. free throws made it a three point game with just over a minute to go.
Clax quietly turned in a solid night. He entered the game with fewer blocks on the season than Cam Thomas, but got on the board there this evening. He also added 18 points while shooting 8-14 from the field and pulling down a dozen boards…
“I feel amazing, like, I put in a lot of work,” said Clax postgame, referencing a back injury that gave him trouble in 2024-25. “Just my posterior changes, getting my body back together. So, I feel really good, and now it’s just about consistency with the group, with myself.”
Alas, that was it for him and the Nets. After a stop and a chance to make it a one point game, Claxton missed a point-blank turnaround and a subsequent tip-in. Brooklyn dropped the game and their record to 0-5, making it their worst start since the 2015-16 season when they finished with 21 wins and drafted Jayson Tatum.
“We just gotta get a win. And like, we all just want to win, I want to win … We just need to get a win.”
At least this year, they’ll have a chance to actually draft whoever this year’s version of JT is. And, not that this is an original idea, but perhaps that’s the real “win” they should be after. It’s all they have, for now.
Final: Atlanta Hawks 117, Brooklyn Nets 112
Next Up
Brooklyn will take four days off before resuming action against the Philadelphia 76ers at home. Philly is undefeated as of Wednesday night, largely thanks to V.J. Edgecombe’s extremely premature but equally tight grip on the Rookie of the Year award. Funny what can happen when Adam Silver likes you, right?
Just kidding, but also, not really.
