The Brooklyn Nets (15-47) spent a few days in South Florida figuring out what they have to do before Thursday’s rematch with the Miami Heat (34-29). Brooklyn could have gone anywhere else on the road, but Miami has a way of keeping its head above water. Unfortunately for the Nets, overtime in Florida didn’t give them the edge they needed to beat the Heat.
The Nets lost to the Heat 126-110, although Brooklyn played better on the court than in Tuesday’s 124-98 loss to Miami. Forward Michael Porter Jr. had an outstanding performance in the game, scoring 27 points and 13 rebounds, while forward Noah Clowney also performed steadily, scoring 17 points and 7 rebounds.
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The Nets started the game in shaky fashion, committing eight of their 18 turnovers in the first quarter, which led to the Heat’s opening nine-point lead. Center Bam Adebayo continued to be a problem for Brooklyn, finishing with 21 points and seven rebounds, but he also picked up his fifth foul early in the third quarter, creating a chance for the Nets.
Although Adebayo had to miss most of the second half, the Nets still struggled to guard Heat guard Tyler Herro (25 points, 5 assists) and backup center Kyle Ware (16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals, 7 blocks). By this point, Brooklyn had clawed its way back from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter, but the Heat proved to be the better team for much of the game.
Center Nic Claxton had 16 points and eight rebounds while playing through a hand injury, and backup forward Ziaire Williams had 15 points and three assists for the second straight game in Miami. The Heat swept the season series against the Nets, and now Brooklyn will face the Detroit Pistons, the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference, on the road on Saturday.
Michael Porter Jr. bounces back
Porter played 36 minutes against the Heat on Thursday, finishing with 27 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block, and he’s clearly on the rebound, both in terms of his performance and effort. Porter is still 9-for-24 from the field and 7-for-18 from 3-point range so far, indicating that he still needs some work to do to return to his early-season efficiency.
Noah Clowney remains solid offensively
Clowney’s production declined as the season went on, but his performance against the Heat was encouraging for a potential rebound at the end of the season. In the past two games, Clowney averaged 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, averaging 6.5 shots per game, shooting 47.6% from the field and 46.2% from three-point range.
Nick Claxton takes on Bam Adebayo, Kyle Ware in miniseries
Claxton performed well during his time in Miami, averaging 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, shooting 36.4% from the field and 50.0% from the free throw line. However, Claxton struggled against Bam Adebayo and Kyle Ware, as the two big men had advantages over him in both scoring and defensive abilities.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 takeaways from Nets’ 126-110 loss to Heat
