It’s official. The Nets are 1-4 since trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
After falling behind by as many as 18 points, the Nets battled back to tie things up before eventually losing after Trae Young hit a game-winning shot, 129-127. With the loss, the Nets have dropped down to a tie for 5th in the Eastern Conference standings with the crosstown rival New York Knicks. For those that are keeping track: yes, both of New York’s professional basketball teams are set to face off on Wednesday in what could be a monumental game for deciding playoff seeding.
Cam Johnson led the charge for the Nets with 27 points, the third-highest-scoring performance of his career. This was also the first time that Johnson broke 20 points as a Net. CJ is now averaging 14.2 points as a Brooklyn Net.
Mikal Bridges also had another solid showing with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting. He was also tenacious on the defensive end and recorded two steals and two blocks. “Brooklyn Bridges” is now averaging 22.4 as a Brooklyn Net.
Otherwise, Cam Thomas filled it up off the bench with 22 points, 11 of which came in the second quarter. Though he wasn’t totally efficient, 6-of-14 from the field, he did get to the line repeatedly and went a perfect 9-for-9. He’s now shooting 89.3% at the stripe.
Trae Young led all scorers with 34 points on 12-of-26 shooting to go with eights assists, and mostly importantly, the game-winning shot. His backcourt partner, Dejounte Murry, also had 28 points on multiple shots, going 12-of-21 from the field and 4-of-7 from three. Bogdan Bogdanovic filled in 22 points off the bench for the Hawks, as well.
After starting just 1-for-9 to begin the game, the Nets made 13 of their next 30 three-pointers to shoot a solid 35.9% from the line. Unfortunately, Atlanta seemingly could not miss from deep, going 16-of-30 from behind the arc for a blistering 53.3%. The Hawks as a team have shot just 35.3% from three on the season, 21st in the league, so this was a bit of an outlier performance. Still, though, this was the third time in four games that the Nets have allowed at least 120 points to an opponent.
Initially, it looked as if the Nets had the right type of energy to avenge Friday’s embarrassing 44-point loss. For the first couple of minutes of the first quarter, the Nets switched fluidly and coerced Atlanta into a series of awkward isolations to no avail. Brooklyn’s offense, however, remained in the mud, going just 1-of-11 from three on mostly open attempts. Those missed shots gave Atlanta the opportunity to put points on the board, up 37-29.
The Hawks kept the momentum going in the second quarter. Bogdan Bogdanovic got going from three after Royce O’Neale helped off to triple-team (??) Onyeka Okongwu. Bogdanovic promptly responded to the disrespect with 4 three-pointers in the quarter, and Atlanta began the second quarter on a 13-3 run. Thomas quieted that run with 11 points in the period to cut the Hawks’ advantage down from 17 points to 7. Atlanta finished the half ahead, 64-57.
Brooklyn finally found its rhythm from three with two made three-pointers to start the third quarter from Cam Johnson and Spencer Dinwiddie. After Dorian Finney-Smith tipped in a layup on the fastbreak, the Nets took their first lead, 72-71, at the 8:17 mark in the quarter. Things were fairly back-and-forth, with Trae Young hitting a pair of layups and Bridges getting going in the midrange, until the end of the quarter. Royce O’Neale hit three-straight threes in the final three minutes of play, yet Atlanta finished ahead once more, 97-94.
Dinwiddie finally found an offensive rhythm in the fourth—first on a stepback shot, then on a HUGE poster dunk over Okongwu. Atlanta returned with some truly tough shots: a pull-up three from Saddiq Bey that was well contested by Thomas, and then Bogdanovic hit a stepback two-pointer with the shot-clock expiring and then a pick-and-pop three at the left wing after ghosting the screen. It was Brooklyn’s turn to punch back; first, Dinwiddie hit a stepback three on a switch with Okongwu, and then Cam Johnson hit a running three in transition to make things a three-point game with just over 3 minutes to spare.
Atlanta’s star power began to take over in the final minutes of play. Murray hit a huge pull-up three-pointer, Young hit a tough floater with his body drifting away from the rim, and Murray hit another tough jumper inside the three-point line. At the 1:17 mark in the fourth, the Hawks were up 127-119. But then Atlanta collapsed. Dinwiddie got himself another dunk, Finney-Smith hit a huge three in transition, and Cam Johnson hit a corner three when Bogdanovic bizarrely helped over to stop a layup from Finney-Smith with his Hawks up three. Somehow, someway, the Nets tied things up with just 7 seconds to spare.
Then, it happened.
Trae Young hit the game-winning shot to give his Hawks their 31st victory of the season. Sigh.
The Film Room
The Nets entered Sunday’s matinee game ranked dead-last in defense since Durant and Irving were dealt to the great Southwest. If that sounds surprising, it should. Through deadline dealings, the Nets have retrofitted their roster with a cadre of good-to-great defenders in Bridges, Johnson, Finney-Smith, and Dinwiddie alongside staunch defenders like Nic Claxton.
And yet, for the third time in four games, the Nets allowed at least 120 points. Not good.
The Nets are holding their own in isolation. That’s not the problem. Bridges, Claxton, etc. can all hold their own on an island.
It’s the team defense that has been an utter atrocity. Simple pick-and-rolls have stymied the Nets. Normally, the Nets automatically switch any on-ball screening actions. Here, newcomers Johnson and Bridges are late on this switch and John Collins rockets toward the rim free for the highlight slam.
The same can be said about pick-and-pops. Here, De’Andre Hunter “ghosts” and slips out of his screen for the pick-and-pop three, and Royce O’Neale pauses for a second, unsure if he’s supposed to switch with Bridges or stay true to his matchup.
Even the angles that the Nets took on closeouts were odd.
What’s next
The Nets head home to host the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday at 7:30 P.M. EST. Coverage begins on the YES Network.
For a different perspective on tonight’s game, head to Peachtree Hoops, our Hawks sister site.
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February 27, 2023 at 07:45AM
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Oof. Nets lose on Trae Young game-winning shot to Hawks, 129-127 - Nets Daily
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