Considering that Monday night’s Nets-Blazers tilt at Barclays was a rescheduled game postponed from January, on the same night as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Championship and same day as Opening Day for many of the MLB’s teams, you could understand if there would be a palpable lack of energy in the arena from both the fans and the two teams.
Early on, even though Portland had to fly across the country yesterday with another cross-continent flight later tonight, the Blazers played like the team fighting for a spot in the postseason. Damian Lillard–whom the Nets traded (as a draft pick) to Portland for Gerald Wallace a few years ago–led the Blazers to an eight-point first quarter lead as Brooklyn could get nothing going on offense.
The second quarter, thought, in a reversal of the team’s recent play was much better, thanks to strong play from Bojan Bogdanovic and the rest of the bench. The Nets outscored the decimated Trail Blazers–without LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Kaman, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum and Dorell Wright–32-13 in the frame as they took a 54-38 halftime lead.
The Nets would lead the rest of the way, even though some points during the second half saw the Blazers come frighteningly close to regaining the lead. Brooklyn was up by as much as 22 points in the third quarter but Portland would cut it to 12 quickly and then stick around through to the end of the fourth, even though the Blazers were never able to get over the hump.
Assorted thoughts: It’s fair to say Brook Lopez (30 points, nine rebounds) was the better Lopez brother tonight. Fresh off his second-consecutive Eastern Conference Player of the Week award, Brooklyn’s Lopez was dominant down low on offense, getting any look he wanted and was able to convert with relative ease. Granted, he benefited from the absence of Aldridge and Kaman but did have to get through his brother, Meyers Leonard and Joel Freeland. I don’t know what has caused him to play out of his mind for the last two weeks or so, but it’s been a very welcome sight. Maybe it’s the trade deadline passing or the arrival of Thaddeus Young. It doesn’t matter, though, cause all that matters is he’s playing like the NBA’s best center….Speaking of Thaddeus, he put together another solid all-around game. His best attribute might be his never-ending activity at the basket which leads to offensive rebounds and subsequent baskets. Young’s 20 points and five boards in 42 minutes can attest to that….Like Brook, Deron Williams has experienced a resurgence lately and posted another double-double tonight (24 points and 10 assists). One of the more promising trends of late has been the reappearance of his outside shot (4-5 from three) which he is now looking to take often and, thankfully, he’s made them often as well. Can’t ask for more of a point guard to lead the offense as seamlessly as he has, get open shots for both himself and his teammates as well as take care of the ball (zero turnovers for him and none for the entire starting lineup). Great stuff….Joe Johnson almost lost his streak of making a field goal in his last 800 and change games but he hit a late jumper to go 1-10 from the field. Obviously, not a great development but he has been prone to these rough patches this season.
Onto the next one: Brooklyn stays home to take on the Hawks at Barclays on Wednesday for the second time in less than a week.
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