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| Paul Pierce played very well in his Nets debut, scoring 17 points on just eight shots, but allowed a crucial offensive rebound late in the game which led to a tide-turning Anderson Varejao jumper |
An exciting introduction to the new Brooklyn Nets, with a retooled starting lineup and refurbished bench. A close contest throughout. A matchup coming down to the very last few ticks.
Wednesday night's Nets-Cavaliers game at the Q in Cleveland provided all of those except it didn't result in a Nets win.
Down nine entering the 4th quarter, Brooklyn mounted a formidable comeback attempt in order to tie up the game at 82 at the 7:33 mark after back-to-back threes by Jason Terry, who made his Nets regular season debut tonight along with Pierce and Kevin Garnett. From there, Cleveland built five-point lead before a quick 5-0 run, strengthened by a Brook Lopez lay-in and Pierce trey, evened up the score at 91 apiece.
Then, after a Lopez delay of game, Kyrie Irving missed a long, forced jumper that kicked off the rim to the right and was snagged by Earl Clark over the outstretched arm of Pierce. The offensive board was then worked around the key until it found Anderson Varejao at the free-throw line for a wide open shot, whick he knocked down. The basket gave Cleveland a 93-91 advantage that the Nets wouldn't tie the rest of the game as Brooklyn's last opportunity, an ill-advised jumper from Pierce, didn't fall with 16 seconds left, allowing Irving to ice the game away with free throws.
The loss was a very unfortunate one for interim coach Joe Prunty and the Nets since the team looked so good early on in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn started the evening with a 12-2 run which gave off an appearance of immaculate chemistry. All of those good feelings changed when the reserves entered the game for the Nets starters, as the Cavaliers' bench soundly outplayed that of the Nets.
After 12 minutes, Cleveland took a one-point, 27-26 lead which swapped back and forth between them and Brooklyn during the 2nd quarter. To its credit, the Brooklyn bench didn't let the Cavs extend a lead to an unsurmountable margin, but it did lose the original lead it had and didn't really help earn it back. The defensive rotations were soft enough and offense stagnant enough to keep the season opener in a perpetual state of balance until Cleveland took control in the 3rd quarter and late in the 4th.
Some other observations I had from the game: #ReggieEvansReboundCount: eight in 16 minutes. Reggie, as per usual, was great on the glass but horrific in terms of shooting. He was 1-5 from the floor, missing multiple contested layups when he could have easily passed the ball to a guard for a play reset. Those unfulfilled opportunities act the same way as a turnover–just handing possession to the other team–and make it very hard for the Nets to stay in games down the stretch…..Deron Williams started and played 22 minutes, not scoring much but amassing nine assists (did commit four turnovers though). Looked very spry, active, and healthy, but for some reason didn't enter the game in the 4th quarter as Joe Prunty left Shaun Livingston in at point guard for much of the frame. A very puzzling choice especially when the Brooklyn offense slowed down to a pulp as the 4th quarter went on, and was clearly in need of its star point man…..Brook, Garnett, and Pierce all played very well. Brook only grabbed five rebounds (ughughughughugh) but put in 21 points on 9-18 shooting and was nearly unstoppable down low. KG was also 50% from the field but only ended up taking eight shots. Nabbed ten rebounds and made a few incredible passes leading to hoops. His court vision is nearly unparalleled amongst big men. Paul had a big 1st half with 15 points but only scored two in the 2nd. As mentioned above, missed a key rebound late in the game which allowed the Cavaliers to regain the lead……Terry showed why he's one of the NBA's most accomplished three-point sharpshooters all of time. Scored 14 points in just 19 minutes on 5-10 shooting (4-9 from three). He has such incredible confidence with is shot that he can get it up nearly anywhere and anytime during the game, regardless of whether a defender is on him or not. The Nets sorely needed a consistent knockdown guy like that last season, and now they have one.
Looking Ahead
Brooklyn looks to get rid of the bad taste in their mouth from this one on Friday at the Barclays Center vs the two-time defending champion Miami Heat.
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