NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (12-31) were coming off one of their worst losses in franchise history after Wednesday’s loss at the New York Knicks so it would’ve made sense for the players to let the loss linger in their minds. Despite facing another tough opponent in the visiting Boston Celtics (28-16), Brooklyn played well enough to make it past regulation, but their late-game execution was lacking.
The Nets lost to the Celtics on Friday 130-126 in double overtime despite the fact that Brooklyn was able to make plenty of clutch plays to come back from a 10-point deficit to force the game into overtime. Forward Michael Porter Jr. led the way for the Nets with 30 points and eight rebounds while rookie guard Nolan Traore stepped up down the stretch to the tune of 21 points and three rebounds.
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Despite the fact that the Nets did a great job of limiting Celtics guard Jaylen Brown’s scoring impact, he scored 27 points on 9-of-27 shooting from the field, Brown dished out 12 assists and guard Payton Pritchard was the main player that hurt Brooklyn’s defense. The Nets responded well after Wednesday’s blowout loss at the Knicks, but there were just execution issues down the stretch. Here are three Nets takeaways from Friday’s loss to the Celtics:
Michael Porter Jr. Looking More Like Himself
Porter has been having a rough January compared to the standard that he established for himself over the course of December as it seems that his shooting is not as deadeye as is normally expected. Porter shot 47.4% from the field in this one, but he still shot just 4-of-12 from three-point land. However, when Porter is moving like he did on a few of his drives, it seems like his knee is feeling better with each game.
Nolan Traore Shines
Traore seems to be firmly entrenched as the backup point guard in head coach Jordi Fernandez’s offense, but there’s a possibility that his place in the rotation can change with the way that his playing time has been distributed. Not counting the Knicks loss, Traore has found himself finishing some of Brooklyn’s recent games over Egor Demin and when Traore can get to the basket like he does, it’s hard to keep him off the floor for long stretches.
Nic Claxton Does It All
Claxton has been having arguably the best season of his career, but it’s been more about how many ways he contributes on the floor for the Nets as opposed to being dominant in any one area. Claxton has proven at this point that he is one of the better rebounders and rim protectors in the league from the center spot, but this game once again showed his ability to also impact the game with his passing and his knack for being in the right spot at the right time.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 130-126 double overtime loss to Celtics
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