Cleveland’s blowout continued Thursday, but Friday provided a chance to respond. A chance to compete against the defending NBA champions. And during this period, the Nets did exactly that.
This is not enough.
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Despite a sharper start and a dynamic third quarter, Brooklyn fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-86 at Paycom Center, falling to 15-40 and extending its losing streak to three games. The fight is obvious. Executions, especially offensive executions, do not.
Brooklyn limited the Thunder to 42.2 percent shooting, but they were unable to capitalize, finishing just 36.7 percent from the field, committing 21 turnovers and watching the bench fall behind 55-24. This imbalance dictates that the Nets’ performance oscillates between resilience and missed opportunities.
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists, continuing to shoulder the offensive burden on a night when Nick Claxton and Ziaire Williams were sidelined. Nolan Traore started for the 10th consecutive game and scored 17 points and 3 assists, while Daron Sharp once again played center and had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Substitute Jared McCain scored 21 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, leading four Thunder players in double figures.
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Porter and Egor Demin haven’t featured in consecutive games in more than two months, and their workloads have been carefully managed throughout the season. Both were launched on Friday and earlier, so the freshness is evident.
The Nets opened the game with a level of performance they hadn’t seen the night before. Traore stepped up the tempo, scoring six quick points, Porter saw a few shots, and Brooklyn took an early advantage in the paint despite struggling deep. Defensively, his efforts were equally noteworthy. Facing an Oklahoma City team without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, the Nets held the Thunder to 27.3 percent possession in the first quarter and took a six-point lead into the second quarter, 23-21, withstanding a brief outburst from Chet Holmgren in the process.
But then the wheels fell off a little bit. Brooklyn started the second quarter 0-for-9 from the field, punctuated by turnovers and even a shot-clock violation, as Oklahoma City quietly built a 10-point cushion. The Nets didn’t score their first field goal of the quarter until Sharp slipped in for a free dunk with 3:30 left in the half, earning him his fifth and sixth points. It is worth noting that since the Thunder did not become sharper at the beginning of this quarter, the game was still within reach.
But the numbers tell a bigger story. Brooklyn shot 3 of 17 in the second half and 2 of 23 from beyond the arc in the first half. The process isn’t completely broken, but the results are unforgiving. They scored 33 points in the first half, tied for their third-lowest halftime total this season, and Oklahoma City surged late, fueled by Alex Caruso’s 10 points off the bench and 52.9 percent shooting in the quarter, holding Brooklyn to 17 points.
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The 10 points scored in the second quarter tied a season low for the Nets in some time, matching the number they scored in the fourth quarter after a 54-point loss on Jan. 21 at Madison Square Garden. For a moment, it felt like the game might go in the same direction. Instead, the Nets responded.
Brooklyn took advantage of the opportunity against the Thunder’s second unit after Holmgren’s second 3-pointer extended Oklahoma City’s lead to 18 points. Noah Clowney hit a three-pointer and made consecutive steals to build momentum. Porter hit a three-pointer and Danny Wolfe broke through and dunked first, narrowing the gap to 10 points with 6 minutes and 29 seconds left in the third quarter. This series of actions triggered a 19-10 climax at the beginning of this quarter.
Even when Oklahoma City pushed the advantage back to 17 points, Brooklyn refused to give up, going on a 9-0 run to make it 71-63. The third quarter belongs to the Nets from a statistical point of view. They shot 57.1% from the field, defeated the Thunder 34-26, and held the Thunder’s shooting percentage below 40%. They trailed 77-67 entering the final quarter, but had strong momentum.
Wolfe scored eight points in the third quarter to set the stage for the bench. Entering the fourth quarter, Traore scored 13 points and 2 assists. Porter contributed nine points in the period, mostly at the free throw line, while Jalen Wilson’s brief performance in the third quarter brought significant defensive activity.
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It only lasted so long.
Oklahoma City opened the fourth quarter with a decisive run. Quick baskets by Nikola Topic and Isaiah Hartenstein changed the mood, and a Brooklyn turnover led to a Carson Wallace layup that pushed the Thunder’s lead back to 18 points with 8:59 left. The deficit has persisted ever since.
The effort is there. Reactions after adversity are real. But a succession of cold shots and untimely errors left too much room to recover, a theme that continues as the roster learns how to create consistent results.
The Nets will face the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday at State Farm Arena.