For the second time in three days, the Brooklyn Nets watched another team punch its ticket to the Western Conference play-in tournament.
And this one came down to the final few ticks.
After Portland celebrated its postseason berth with a blowout win over Brooklyn on Monday night, the Nets took the Golden State Warriors to the wire Wednesday before falling just short in a 109-106 defeat in front of 18,064 fans at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
Rookie Ben Saraf put the Nets (17-56) in prime position to play spoiler after beating Draymond Green to the rim for an emphatic dunk with 46 seconds to play, forging a 106-106 deadlock.
De’Anthony Melton and Green combined for three free throws thereafter, leaving Brooklyn in desperation mode with 6.9 seconds to go.
With no timeouts remaining, the Nets quickly inbounded to Josh Minott, but the 6-foot-8 forward tried to launch a full-court heave while drawing contact to no avail.
Both the ball and Brooklyn’s hopes of averting a ninth consecutive loss fell into the hands of Melton, who ran out the clock while the Nets slumped back to the locker room.
“So it was a bad thought,” Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernández admitted, preferring that Minott either pass or absorb a foul and head to the free-throw line. “Not a bad idea, but they didn’t call it, so, we cannot control those things.
Gui Santos poured in 31 points and Brandin Podziemski added 22 for the Warriors, who won their second straight while handing the Nets their 19 loss in the last 21 contests.
Ziaire Williams scored 19 points, Jalen Wilson added 15 and Saraf finished with 14, earning his coach’s trust down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, I want the ball in his hands,” insisted Fernández. “I want him to touch the paint. I mean, seeing this tonight … he was aggressive, and the play before, he just had an incredible dunk.”
Nets rookie Ben Saraf showed plenty of resolve down the stretch, albeit in a tough loss at Golden State on Wednesday. Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/AP
Already without leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. due to a left hamstring strain, the Nets also sat Noah Clowney (wrist), rookie Danny Wolf (ankle) and gave first-year point guard Nolan Traoré a rest day.
That cleared the way for Saraf, who went 5-of-9 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, while handing out seven assists and picking up a pair of steals.
The 19-year-old Israeli averaged just shy of 14.0 points per contest during Brooklyn’s thus-far fruitless four-game road trip and figures to be back at the point in Los Angeles on Friday, when the Nets wrap up their final West Coast swing against the Lakers.
Brooklyn led by as many as 13 points before Golden State (35-38) began showing signs of life in front of their 600th consecutive sellout crowd.
Tyson Etienne’s 3-pointer gave the Nets an 82-70 lead with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, but the Warriors outscored Brooklyn 32-20 over the final 12 minutes.
“Gotta move on. Gotta be better,” Fernández lamented. “But when you play for 48 minutes and compete, that’s how you get better.”
Tip-off at crypto.com Arena is slated for 10:30 p.m. ET.
The game will air locally on the YES Network.
Nets coach Jordi Fernández would like to see his team get more calls despite their inexperience, citing free-throw disparity as an ongoing issue. Photo: Jed Jacobsohn/AP
NOTHING BUT NET: Future Hall of Famer Steph Curry, who is working his way back from a knee injury, may be able to rejoin the Warriors for a potential play-in tournament game next month. … Fernández continued to gripe about the free-throw disparity his team has been enduring throughout the campaign. The youngest team in the NBA watched the Warriors march to the charity stripe 36 times compared to 21 for the visitors. “Once again, the free-throw disparity, they shot 15 more free throws than us, and is it a matter of us being young? I don’t know. But I keep seeing it over and over and over again, and it can be frustrating, right? Because I think we deserve to get to the free-throw line, too.” … Rookie Drake Powell returned from a knee ailment to start and score 10 points. Also, Malachi Smith had 12 off the bench and fellow G-League call-up Chaney Johnson added 11. … After visiting the Lakers, the Nets will return to Barclays Center to open a six-game homestand, beginning Sunday vs. Sacramento. … Brooklyn has already matched its 56-loss total from Fernández’s rookie campaign at the helm last season.