Considering the Minnesota Timberwolves were without a good chunk of their talent base due to injury for their game with the Nets, it was one Brooklyn desperately needed. Following a win over the 76ers on Saturday after a five-game skid, the Nets could use any victory they can get their hands on.
For once, Brooklyn actually took advantage of an opponent not having a lot of key players as the Nets drubbed the Timberwolves 122-106 in Minneapolis on Monday night. The Nets set a franchise-record 78 points in the paint en route to one of their easiest wins in weeks, or maybe months.
Flip Saunders’ rebuilding team was without Nikola Pekovic, Ricky Rubio, former Net Kevin Garnett and a host of reserves, meaning the only halfway decent players left were 2015 No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins, sharpshooter Kevin Martin and Gorgui Dieng, I guess. Meanwhile, Brooklyn had everyone healthy and ready to go, and it showed.
The Nets didn’t get off to the most impressive start, allowing 29 first quarter points while scoring 33 to take a four-point lead after 12 minutes. Early on, Brooklyn established a strong paint presence against the shorthanded Timberwolves, allowing for their record-setting interior offensive performance.
Then, the second quarter was where the rout started and it came on suddenly at the end of the frame.
When Adreian Payne hit a short jumper with 4:37 left in the first half, he gave Minnesota a 51-50 lead–which would actually be the Wolves’ final lead of the game. Then, Brooklyn scored six unanswered points to propel the Nets on a larger, half-ending 17-4 run to give them a 67-55 halftime lead that would prove to be insurmountable for the home team.
Brooklyn did, in the second quarter, what it usually does when it plays well: move the ball. The Nets took just two threes in the frame–splitting the pair–instead choosing to mainly attack the rim, which was lightly contested. This led to a horde of free throw attempts and open layups which allowed the Nets to build their lead quickly and efficiently.
The second half was, surprisingly, a little boring. No blown Nets lead, no furious Timberwolves comeback. It was only Brooklyn playing decent defense and exchanging baskets here and there; the lead even went up to as much as 19 points in the third quarter and stayed around their for most of the fourth as well.
For a Nets team that has had so much trouble with holding leads this season, blowout wins are a nice change of pace and confidence booster, regardless of what team they come against. Also, it’s great to get guys like Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson going after they’ve had some rough games recently.
Assorted thoughts: As I mentioned above, scoring in the paint was the #1 reason Brooklyn won this game so easily. The whole team got in on the act and it was really great to see. There is no more efficient shot in the game of basketball than a layup or a dunk, and finally the Nets took advantage of that. Speaking of Brook and Joe, they only played a combined 47 minutes but scored 38 points between the two of them on 17-22 shooting. Add in 19 points from Thaddeus Young against his old team with 16 from Jarrett Jack (on 6-10 shooting) and 21 (!!!) on 10-15 shooting (!!!!) from Bojan Bogdanovic. Not every day you get five guys on a team score 16 points or more, but when it happens, it usually results in something like a 122-point outburst as a team and an easy win. Brook also dominated the glass with eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end. He made a decent rebounder in Dieng look flat out bad on the boards, which is an incredible sign from Brook….Deron Williams didn’t do too much on offense, scoring just eight points on 3-9 shooting in his 22 minutes, but he did compile seven assists and only committed one turnover (Nets as a team committed 14, a little high). I’ll take a 7:1 assist:turnover ratio from Deron any day of the week….Brooklyn’s defense was also sharp all night, forcing eight steals and 16 Minnesota turnovers overall. This led to 12 Brooklyn fastbreak points and a lot of open dunks in transition the Nets don’t usually get, especially one from Bojan late in the game. Nets as a team happened to shoot almost 58 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle 43-36. Good feelings all around.
Onto the next one: Wednesday night in Cleveland against a Cavaliers team that got blown out in Miami tonight. Thankfully, I have a final that night, so I won’t be able to watch the presumed drubbing angry LeBron, angry Kyrie and angry Kevin Love will bestow on the Nets
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