Brooklyn played without Michael Porter Jr., Egor Dëmin, Day’Ron Sharpe and Nic Claxton — though Claxton was merely rested. Then regulars Noah Clowney, Terance Mann and Ziaire Williams dug a 28-point hole and got benched for the entire fourth quarter.
That final period saw the Nets, utilizing two-ways and a player inked that morning on a 10-day contract, use a 31-9 extended run to flip a 21-point deficit into a lead. But it’s a lead they couldn’t hold, falling just short.
Rookie Danny Wolf had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and he was the only quasi-regular to log more than three minutes in that fourth quarter. Little-used Josh Minott added 14.
Instead, the Nets relied upon two-ways E.J. Liddell (career-high 10 points) and Chaney Johnson (career highs of six points, 10 rebounds, three steals) as well as Malachi Smith, who made his NBA debut after inking his deal that morning.