Brooklyn\u2019s penultimate game before the All-Star break sure felt like the kind of thing you\u2019d sneak in at work before going on vacation. With the Chicago Bulls in town, a group that\u2019s been mediocre so long it might as well be a sponsor for the Play-In tournament, and the lottery-bound Nets playing host, the contest carried little intrigue on the surface, aside from a dynamite jersey matchup.<\/p>\n
However, those who cared to look inward were well rewarded for their vigilance. A handful of players reached career-high marks. Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez, still hungry for \u2018em, got another win as well\u2026<\/p>\n
Chicago had every excuse to look incohesive out there to start tonight, featuring six new players who weren\u2019t there this time a week ago. Three of them even started. However, the Bulls came out of the pen in rhythm, putting up a quick five points before the Nets mustered any for themselves.<\/p>\n
That was as much control as they\u2019d have all game.<\/p>\n
The Nets didn\u2019t take long to catch up. Indeed, speed was a priority for them in the opening frame, as the Nets compiled 10 transition points in the first. They also managed to post .455\/.429 splits \u2014 which is more impressive than it sounds when you remember that Michael Porter Jr. (knee tendonitis) and Egor D\u00ebmin (rest) both sat this one out.<\/p>\n
Noah Clowney led the way with 12 first quarter points, hitting shots with the space Brooklyn\u2019s aggressiveness yielded on the break. After starting 0-8 from deep in his first pair of games back since returning from injury, he\u2019s shot 8-14 from three in the next two.<\/p>\n
However, Drake Powell, who\u2019s had an even quieter past few weeks, had the loudest points of the period\u2026<\/p>\n
It ended up being quite the first half for Powell, who then scored seven of Brooklyn\u2019s first 12 points in the second period. The Bulls took a lot of heat online for their lack of center depth after the trade deadline. Powell seemed to be well aware, putting pressure on the rim time after time down the floor. He finished with 14 points and five rebounds after shooting 5-11 from the field.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take Nic Claxton long to follow Powell\u2019s lead, happily doing what big guys have been doing to small guys on basketball courts since James Naismith mounted he first basket . He added 12 points in the period while shooting a near perfect 7-8 from the field, as the Nets outscored Chicago inside 20-10 in the frame.<\/p>\n
Getting help from Clax there as well, the Net defense also upped its defensive pressure in period two inside and out. Chicago shot just 3-8 at the rim in the frame and went 2-12 from deep in the first half after starting 3-4. Consequently, Brooklyn went into the break with a lead for the second game in a row, sitting in front by a 60-54 margin.<\/p>\n
Bathroom lines be damned, the Nets then gave us the game\u2019s defining stretch almost immediately after the second half began. Brooklyn made its first five shots to open the third, enjoying an 11-5 run that put them up double digits in a flash. With everything going down, Claxton even gave their magnet ball the toughest of tests when he hoisted up a triple at the top of the key, but it passed nonetheless\u2026<\/p>\n
Demoralizing as it is to see a guy shooting a career 15.3% from three drain one over your head, the Bulls managed to stay in striking distance, never trailing in the third by more than 15.<\/p>\n
After catching their own breath, Chicago put the brakes on Brooklyn\u2019s fast break, surrendering only two points in transition during the period after giving up 16 in the first half. The Bulls also outscored the Nets 11-0 in second chance points during the third. After a 16-2 Chicago run, we were tied 89-89 entering the fourth.<\/p>\n
There, both teams went tick for tack during the first five minutes. Ziaire Williams began putting his imprint on the game with a handful of crafty cuts and finishes. Nolan Traor\u00e9 expanded his, notching his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 assists roughly four minutes into the fourth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was great,\u201d he said postgame. \u201cYou have to give credit to my teammates. Good screens open the court and I can make decisions, and hopefully I make the right one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooklyn clawed their way to a five point lead with roughly seven minutes to go and kept it there until a timeout with around three minutes remaining. After experimenting for a few sequences with an ultra big lineup where the offense ran through Danny Wolf and also featured Day\u2019Ron Sharpe, Terance Mann, Clowney, and Williams, Fern\u00e1ndez then went back to his starting five to try and close the game out.<\/p>\n
With that opportunity, Claxton and Traor\u00e9 put a bow on the game and arguably each of their best performances of the year. As Brooklyn\u2019s offense started to stall, Clax quickly added four points, two around the rim and two at the line, as the clock trickled down to sustain the lead. Traor\u00e9 then put Anfernee Simons, and the game, on ice\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan was making the right play to start, whether that was getting downhill, spraying it, scoring, hitting the pocket,\u201d Clowney said. \u201cHe was giving us an advantage and letting us play off that. When you play like that, it\u2019s really easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow he can go fast, slow, fast,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez added. \u201cBefore everything was rushed. You see how confident he is, calling the plays. I don\u2019t have to be as involved. I trust him. Defensively he fights. He got a big vertical at the end for a stop. We\u2019re going to keep seeing his growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nolan finished with a career-high 13 assists along with 13 points. Claxton put up 28 points, a career-high as well, along with 10 boards and four assists.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything is efficient. Four assists, one turnover, 10 rebounds. He makes everybody better,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said of Clax. \u201cHe rolls to the rim, the defense has to pull in, Nolan can find teammates. He does so much beyond the points. That\u2019s the Nic we want to see. His mindset was aggressive from the beginning to the end. I think it\u2019s been his best game in the last few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nets? They put win number 15 on the board. With the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz also winning tonight, it can\u2019t help but feel like a costly one.<\/p>\n
Well, at least their next opponent totally isn\u2019t tanking either\u2026<\/p>\n
Final: Brooklyn Nets 123, Chicago Bulls 115<\/p>\n
Nic Claxton scored a career-high 28 points tonight with 10 rebounds and four assists on 12-15 FG, 1-1 3PT and 3-6 FT. It was the 13th 20-point double-double of his career.Nolan Traore scored 13 points tonight against Chicago with 13 assists, tied as the most by a rookie in the NBA this season and the fourth most by a rookie in Nets history.Traore is also the third Nets rookie with 13+ PTS and 13+ AST in a game, joining Terrance Williams (4\/3\/10) and Darwin Cook (twice in 1981). He joins Dallas\u2019 Ryan Nembhard (15 PTS, 13 AST on 12\/3\/25 vs. MIA) as the only rookies in the league to do so this season.Nic Claxton had the 86th double-double of his career tonight, which ties Sam Bowie as the 8th-most in Nets history.Day\u2019Ron Sharpe now has the second most offensive rebounds off the bench in Nets history (553). He passes Chris Dudley and now trails only Jayson Williams (600). Sharpe\u2019s 18.6% career offensive rebound percentage remains the highest in NBA history (min. 200 games).<\/p>\n
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