The Brooklyn Nets played the Miami Heat for a second straight time tonight. It was honest remake. The same characters appeared. There were a few creative spins on the script and plot. However, we got the same, predicable ending.
Much like in the Tuesday game, the Nets struggled to protect the rock this evening, once more turning it over 19 times. Seven of them came on their first 11 possessions of the game.
The other night, when the wasted trips down the floor began to stack, Brooklyn’s rookie ball-handlers shouldered most of the blame. It was fair criticism, and Jordi Fernández agreed with it postgame, as Ben Saraf and Nolan Traoré combined for 12 of those turnovers.
But this time, the kids were innocent, at least in the first quarter. Both Traoré and Saraf played squeaky clean opening frames. It was yet another instance of Fernández challenging his young talent and getting the desired response.
“I think today we we got better,” Fernández said. “Obviously, not what we want, coming out with a loss, but a lot of good things. And starting with the first group, the way they competed, and that’s what I like to see.”
Traoré was especially better early, and in more ways than one. He opened the game with a 7/2/2 line while shooting 3-4 from the field and 1-1 from deep. He only scored two more points after that, struggling to handle Miami’s zone, but Fernández brushed it off postgame.
“It’s understanding the game,” he said. “They were in a zone, and he was trying to call the plays against the zone, and I thought we got good shots. He thought that he saw something different than what it was, and you know, a couple of turnovers here and there… I trust that he’s very smart. He has a good feel, he’s got a good voice, but it doesn’t happen overnight, that he can control everything. So I’ve got keep helping him with games like this…There was a little bit of struggle, but I’m not concerned, because he’s going to keep growing and getting better.”
“They just played zone, and we struggled a little bit at the end, but we’re going to get better,” Traoré added. “Next time, it’s going to be way better. Just got to do what we know, execute what we learn, and we’ll be alright.”
Saraf also had two strong takes in the first and showed what positional size can do for you even when you don’t have the quickest feet…
That production also helped the Nets stay within reach after the first, even while throwing a possession giveaway sale.
But then, like they did in the first game, the Heat started doing what playoff-hungry teams are supposed to do to basement dwellers. Dru Smith, who appeared in 10 games for Brooklyn as a tw0-way player in 2023, gave Miami five points in less than four minutes to help his team establish a double digit lead. Kel’el Ware also started doing what seven footers are known to do, rejecting three shots in the period to help him earn a career-high seven for the game.
However, Fernández has said multiple times this year he doesn’t want his team to quietly concede games. He wants to see “the fight.”
It doesn’t seem like the message always sticks, but tonight, in the humid 305, it did.
The Nets closed the second on a 14-5 run, making this a two possession game at halftime. After being -7 in turnovers in in the first, they finished +3 in the second. Ochai Agbaji, Ziaire Williams, Terance Mann, Claxton and Clowney were all in on the action with a steal each.
“Man, we just tried to play with a little extra effort, one more charge, one more closeout, just a little more effort than we had last game,” Williams said. “Still came up short, but I thought our guys were fighting back.”
Michael Porter also flipped things after a rough game on Tuesday. Benefitting from the space created off those turnovers, he sprayed two threes in the period to give himself 11 points by halftime. He finished the game with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists while shooting 9-24 from the field and 7-13 from three. He also snagged two steals and blocked a shot.
“You just look at the rebounding, 13 rebounds, and then winning plays,” Fernández said. “Like, he sprinted in transition defensively and got the deflection towards the end of the third quarter. Just things like this, when I see Mike so engaged, and then when he thinks about rebounding, about cutting, and playing as far as he can defensively, then shots go in. I thought he was aggressive. I was very happy with the game he played. That’s the Michael that the group needs, because he brings so much good energy and the level of play of a very, very, very good player, a top player in the NBA.”
Porter Jr. lifted the Nets to 7-13 shooting from three by that point. The Nets only made six threes all game on Tuesday.
Understandably, Brooklyn kept pressing those buttons when play resumed. They hit another two threes to begin the second half, cracking it open with an 8-0 run that gave them their first lead since the opening minutes. Porter Jr. also added another 13 points in the third. The basket began to look like the ocean in South Beach…
After Bam Adebayo picked up his fourth and fifth fouls just 30 seconds apart from each other halfway through the third, the thought of an upset victory started to creep in.
However, that intoxicating and foreign feeling quickly faded. Tyler Herro became exactly that for all fans in attendance and Brooklyn’s greediest tank commanders hoping for a 10th straight loss. Herro scored a dozen in the frame to weigh against Porter Jr.’s production and carry the load with Adebayo handcuffed to the bench. With Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Pelle Larsson each pumping in five points during the period too, Miami reinflated its lead to 12 by the start of the fourth.
Then, in their eighth straight quarter with the Nets on their plate, the Heat refused to play with their food. Miami outscored Brooklyn 19-7 to open the period while shooting 7-8 from the field, rendering a 20+ point advantage in the process.
The Nets did respond one more time with a 9-0 punch back, but never brought the game back within single digits. They certainly tried their best, ravaging the offensive glass and keeping their starters in until 2:20 remained on the clock.
“I like the fight even when the game went to over 20, got it to 15, and they called a timeout,” Fernández remarked. “And to me, that means the world. That means that’s the right mindset — keep fighting no matter what. I’m proud of the guys, especially the first group tonight.”
But as the Nets fought on, the basket refused to cooperate. Their jump shots looked flat. They started missing short, and even on a few occasions, everything.
Eventually, there was nothing else standing in the way of Brooklyn and its 10th straight loss.
Final: Miami Heat 126, Brooklyn Nets 110
Michael Porter Jr. had 27 points and 13 rebounds tonight against the Heat for his 10th 20-point double-double of the season, which breaks a tie with 2020-21 for his most in any career season.
Jordi Fernandez had his first chance to respond to Cam Thomas’ comments to the Post’s Stefan Bondy that the Nets as an organization didn’t believe in him and “they don’t believe in anybody.”
The Nets coach who was generally positive about his shooting guard both last season and until he was finally waived at the deadline was predictably diplomatic but made his point nonetheless.
“We wish Cam the best,” he said. “We loved him while he was here. We hope that he does very well where he is. I don’t know if he has the right to speak about others. We’re happy with the guys we have here. I believe that everybody here can help us with what we have planned.”
Meanwhile, Erik Taylor posted a this item about Thomas’ defense…
Fernández reiterated that Egor Dëmin doesn’t have a timetable for a return tonight. He missed his third straight game this evening with plantar fasciitis.
“He’s struggled with his plantar fasciitis,” Fernández said. “The soreness has increased lately. We’re being cautious and trying to figure out what’s the best way for him moving forward.”
For anyone wondering, there isn’t a 65-game requirement for all-rookie teams, so if Dëmin’s in a running for a spot at the end of the year, these or any future games out shouldn’t affect him.
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The Nets will play the conference-leading Detroit Pistons for a final time this year on Saturday afternoon. This one could get ugly quick, so get there soon. The game tips off at 6:00 p.m. ET.