Trendon Watford was cleared to play forward of the Nets’ rematch in opposition to the Knicks on Sunday at Madison Sq. Backyard, however Brooklyn was nonetheless with out a wholesome heart and Karl-Anthony Cities was again on the courtroom for New York after lacking Friday’s interborough conflict due to a knee damage.
Cities, 6-11, dominated the undersized Nets as one would count on, ending with 26 factors and 6 assists within the within the Knicks’ 114-104 win. Brooklyn fell to 5-9 this season after dropping at The Backyard for the second time in three days.
“He can iso, he can shoot the 3,” Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez stated. “So, you know, he’s a good player, and he showed his abilities, but on our end, we are not concerned with that. We’ll play and fight against whoever is in front of us, and whether we have more centers or less centers, we’ll find a way to respond. So once again, proud of the guys. A few things we could have done better, especially on the defensive end, but we’ll watch the film, and then we’ll move on to the next one.”
The Nets performed a decent sport within the first half, though Cam Thomas cooled off significantly following his 43-point efficiency in Friday’s 124-122 loss. The Knicks doubled him early and sometimes, which compelled others to step up offensively, particularly Cam Johnson and Jalen Wilson.
Wilson scored 13 factors on 4-of-4 capturing off the bench within the second quarter to assist Brooklyn maintain tempo with the Knicks whereas Thomas and others had been successfully neutralized. It went into the locker room trailing by solely three factors. After hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer late in fourth quarter on Friday, Jalen Brunson was restricted to 3 factors on 0-of-5 capturing within the first half.
The Nets shot 45.5% on two-point makes an attempt within the first half and the Knicks shot 65.2%. Brooklyn shot 44.4% from deep within the first half (8-of-18), which helped maintain the sport tight. It discovered nice offense when the Knicks would present two defenders Thomas, which created open alternatives for others across the perimeter.
Cities dropped 14 factors within the third quarter whereas the Knicks shot 52.2% from the sector and compelled six Nets turnovers, which resulted in 9 factors. They outscored Brooklyn 35-24 within the interval and entered the ultimate body main 95-81, their largest benefit of the evening.
The Nets scored 40 factors within the fourth quarter on Friday, however there was no such rally for Fernandez’s workforce on Sunday. Brooklyn was restricted to simply 33.3% capturing within the ultimate body and went 5-of-13 from deep.
“That was just the flow of the game,” Johnson stated. “Towns got going for a second, they started hitting some shots, and we kind of hit a lull and they were able to separate. That’s kind of the difference in the game right there. We were able to cut it down, had a couple opportunities to get it to six points, eight points, seven points, whatever it may be. We just couldn’t shrink that gap, you know? Closed the third, early fourth and it’s a game of runs. Some of them just didn’t go our way today.”
Johnson completed with a team-high 22 factors for the Nets within the loss. Thomas was held to 16 factors on 4-of-11 capturing and Wilson completed with 15 factors off the bench. Brooklyn was outscored 50-24 within the paint.
“Definitely a problem, but I just don’t think we brought energy tonight… We didn’t play how we needed to play,” Ben Simmons stated when requested in regards to the Nets’ paint woes.
Watford, in his season debut, had 4 factors, three rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes. The Nets will return to motion on Tuesday in opposition to the Charlotte Hornets at Barclays Middle.
“I was a little tired, I’m not going to lie, but it felt good though,” Watford stated. “I just knew when I was coming in and how long I was going to play. Three-minute stints, four-minute stints, so it was easy just to play hard, try not to think as much and just play.”
Initially Revealed: November 17, 2024 at 9:53 PM EST
