Nets' win over Thunder might be a turning point
Nets center Nic Claxton dunks against the Thunder during the second half of an NBA game at Barclays Center on Friday. Credit: AP/Peter K. Afriyie
Home cooking did the Nets good Friday, especially on defense where they looked revitalized in their win against the Thunder.
There were positive signs such as the Nets getting 30 second chance points and limiting the Thunder to just nine three-pointers. But even as they snapped as their five-game losing streak, playing at Barclays Center didn’t solve every problem.
A 32-point, third-quarter lead was down to six in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. The Nets made just five shots on 22 attempts in the final period, shooting 22.7% while the Thunder, shot 72.7%.
Nevertheless, the Nets survived for their most significant win of the season and first over a team above .500 since Dec. 13 against the Suns. So was it a sign of a turnaround? Or winning in spite of familiar bad habits?
Maybe it’s both.
“That's going to be our challenge to put together 48 minutes of just being connected and everything. But we sustained it,” Nic Claxton said. “Sometimes . . . they went on a run. They’re a really good team.
“We might have started playing a little bit tentative there later in the game instead of just playing earlier in the clock. But we won, so that's what matters at the end of the day.”
While that’s true, how the Nets looked was crucial, too, in seeing what this win means. They attacked first and often and showed resilience in holding off the Thunder’s late charge.
Claxton (23 points, 13 rebounds) outplayed Thunder rookie center Chet Holmgren (13 pts, eight rebounds) after Holmgren won that matchup in Sunday’s win over the Nets. Dennis Smith Jr.’s energy off the bench (13 points, 12 rebounds) was just as important as Cam Thomas shaking his recent slump with 19 points.
It should be a turning point after three weeks of subpar play and losing 11 of their last 15 games. Yet the Nets also gave up 68 points in the second half, a reminder of their defensive problems the past three weeks. The Nets won despite Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson combining to shoot 8-for-28 and Johnson going 0-for-9 in the second half before leaving in the fourth quarter because of cramping in his hamstring.
“We started getting bored making the right plays and they get a little tough for us and that’s when we started getting stagnant,” Smith said. “That’s how they made their run.”
It's concerning yes. But as Smith also said, the win also takes the monkey off the Nets’ back. It showed how they can be effective on defense and better connected.
They also won with Lonnie Walker IV playing just six minutes in his return from a hamstring injury. Walker will eventually find his legs again and that could offset some of Bridges’ shooting struggles.
Ultimately, how the Nets play their next games will determine if this was a true spark. They face a struggling Trail Blazers team Sunday before leaving for Paris to face the Cavaliers on Thursday. The Nets lost to Cleveland by a point in the season opener.
After 10 losses in their last 12 games, Friday showed the Nets can stay back on track if they play more like the first half and less like the second.
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
