The Long Island Nets returned to the court on Sunday evening for a showdown with the Iowa Wolves on the road. While Grant Nelson was inactive for this game due to injury management, the three Brooklyn Nets two-way players — Tyson Etienne, Chaney Johnson, & EJ Liddell — were out in full force as they combined for 60 points. In the end, Long Island walked away with the victory, defeating Iowa, 124-115. In addition, Ben Saraf, assigned to Long Island by Brooklyn, added 15.
Etienne led the team in scoring,
tallying 27 points. It looked like he was going to be in for an even bigger scoring performance as he reached double-digits midway through the first quarter. However, another 40-point performance was not in the cards for Etienne who slowed down throughout the game. However, he shot the ball very well, connecting on seven of his 13 shots, including going 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. Etienne was perfect from the foul line, draining all four of his tries.
There was a downside. Etienne not only led the team, but the entire game in turnovers, turning the ball over five times. He was
Another player who is trying to find their way up to the big club is Chaney Johnson. The 6’7” way player on hand in this one was second on the team in scoring with 21 points. Johnson had a very impressive shooting performance, connecting on nine of his 13 shots, including 1-of-2 from 3-point land.
Scoring in the double-digits night in and night out has become a norm for the 23-year-old latest two-way signee. Johnson also had four rebounds, one assist, and a block. This was a very solid performance.
The third Brooklyn two-way player on hand for this one was 6’7” wing E.J. Liddell. Liddell, who has had several outstanding games, had a rather quiet game in this one. He finished with 12 points, connecting on five of his seven attempts from the field. He also went two-for-three from deep, so his shooting was pretty on key in this game. Not much to complain about, however, he didn’t find nearly as many looks as he has in previous games.
This also marked Liddell’s second game on the court since returning from a freak injury that had caused him to miss about a week of games. Uncharacteristically, Liddell didn’t pick up a single block in this one. However, Liddell finished with five rebounds, two assists, and even had a steal to his credit.
Despite getting off to a very rocky start in this game, Saraf turned it around and actually put up some respectable numbers. Saraf started the game connecting on one of his seven shots. However, he finished the game connecting on five of his 12 shots in total, including going 1-of-3 from deep. Overall, Saraf finished this one with a total of 15 points, which was much better than what we anticipated based on how he started Sunday’s game.
However, to Saraf’s credit, when he wasn’t hitting his shots, he began passing the ball more, which was very smart of him. He finished the game with eight assists, as well as six rebounds, slightly flirting with a triple-double. Another positive sign of improvement was that Saraf only turned the ball over twice, a big drop from his big issue this season. Earlier this season he registered eight turnovers in a game.
Grant Nelson, the 7’0” big man who recently returned for a seven-week layoff due to knew woes, was rested.
Trevon Scott, Long Island’s 6’8” big picked up 17 points in this one and had a five steals. Nate Williams rounded out the starters, tallying 15 points and flirting with a double-double, picking up seven rebounds. Malachi Smith continued his hot play off the bench, as he tallied 15 points. Smith made his presence felt in more ways than one as he also had five rebounds and five assists.
Next Up
The Long Island Nets (6-5) return to the court on Monday afternoon for a rematch with the Iowa Wolves. The game is an afternoon game as it tips off at 2:00 p.m. EST. It can be watched on the NBA G League and Long Island Nets’ respective websites.
