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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<\/p>\nFor the second time in three days, the Brooklyn Nets watched another team punch its ticket to the Western Conference play-in tournament.<\/p>\n
And this one came down to the final few ticks.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Chase Center.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
De\u2019Anthony Melton and Green combined for three free throws thereafter, leaving Brooklyn in desperation mode with 6.9 seconds to go.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Both the ball and Brooklyn\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it was a bad thought,\u201d Brooklyn coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez admitted, preferring that Minott either pass or absorb a foul and head to the free-throw line. \u201cNot a bad idea, but they didn\u2019t call it, so, we cannot control those things.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Ziaire Williams scored 19 points, Jalen Wilson added 15 and Saraf finished with 14, earning his coach\u2019s trust down the stretch in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I want the ball in his hands,\u201d insisted Fern\u00e1ndez. \u201cI want him to touch the paint. I mean, seeing this tonight \u2026 he was aggressive, and the play before, he just had an incredible dunk.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
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 Traor\u00e9 a rest day.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old Israeli averaged just shy of 14.0 points per contest during Brooklyn\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Tyson Etienne\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cGotta move on. Gotta be better,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez lamented. \u201cBut when you play for 48 minutes and compete, that\u2019s how you get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Nets coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez would like to see his team get more calls despite their inexperience, citing free-throw disparity as an ongoing issue. Photo: Jed Jacobsohn\/AP<\/p>\n