NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. is having another solid season in his second year with the Nets, but the team has been struggling to close games this season. Brooklyn wasn't able to get themselves organized in the fourth quarter of Monday's 103-90 loss at the New York Knicks and Porter explained what led to the collapse as well as his waining performance down the stretch.
"I think we had some turnovers. Also, I think that I need to do a better job of being aggressive. This happened in the Boston game as well in overtime," Porter said prior to Wednesday's matchup against the visiting Charlotte Hornets. Brooklyn lost the fourth quarter to the Knicks to the tune of 28-11 due to the Nets being shellshocked on both ends of the floor
and Porter having a good reason for not being as aggressive as he normally is.
"In that Knicks game, I actually sprained my arm. I hyperextended my left arm, and that kind of took me out of some of my aggression," Porter continued. "I couldn't really dribble the ball out of my left so I really was just out there trying to space the floor because I didn't feel good. Luckily, it was only like a stinger, and it like kind of healed over the last two days a little bit. It still feels [bad] a little bit, but yeah, I was in a little bit of discomfort."
Porter finished the contest with 18 points and five rebounds in 37 minutes, but there was never an indication during the game that he was dealing with the arm issue. Porter scored 13 of his 18 points in the third quarter as he caught fire from behind the three-point line, but he had just two shot attempts during his nine-plus minutes in the fourth quarter so it seems like the issue was bothering him enough that he needed to take a step back.
The good news is that Porter said that he'll be good to go for Wednesday's game against the Hornets and that the rest of the team seems to understand that communication is the way to get out of this rut. Brooklyn has one more game left at home before embarking on a four-game road trip so the hope is that Porter and company can beat Charlotte to hopefully speed up the turnaround process.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Michael Porter Jr. dealing with left arm injury as Nets regroup
