Missing Paul Pierce (hip/rest), Shaun Livingston (toe/rest), and Andray Blatche (illness) and coming off a tiring, late nationally-televised win over the Heat in Miami last night, the Nets weren’t expected to be very energized for their penultimate 2013-14 season tilt with the Magic tonight in Orlando.
For the first half of this game, that assertion would appear to be true, as the long-eliminated-from-postseason Magic, boasting a lot of young and talented players, pounced on a lifeless Nets team that didn’t seem too interested in winning its seventh game in eight tries overall. E’Twaun Moore, who made all six shots (five threes) he attempted on the night, scored 14 straight for Orlando and its coach, former Net and Jason Kidd teammate Jacque Vaughn, in the second quarter to extend the Magic’s lead into a double-digit one.
However, as they have done a lot recently, the Nets fought right back in this game to immediately cut into their deficit, getting it to six points from the halftime 12 in just a few minutes. Mirza Teletovic and Joe Johnson, who combined for 48 points and seven threes, went berserk from long range in the third quarter, keeping the Nets close and even getting Brooklyn the lead late in the frame, before a quarter-ending 5-0 run by the Magic gave them a 83-78 heading into the fourth.
Orlando controlled basically the entire 12-minute final period, holding a single-digit lead that fluctuated in size throughout. Brooklyn kept trying to chip away, as Plumlee attacked the rim mercilessly to score some of his 16 points, but the Magic were able to answer every threat the Nets posed. Even with less than a minute left, a Johnson–who scored eight points in a row for Brooklyn as the Nets tried to come back with less than two minutes remaining–lane floater cut the deficit to 108-107, a Mo Harkless jumper brought it right back to 110-107.
Joe hit another shot, giving him a game-high 31 points, but Jameer Nelson was fouled and hit both free throws before Joe’s last-ditch three-point attempt was block by Kyle O’Quinn to seal the game for the Magic.
Some other observations I had from the game: Deron Williams shot poorly (3-of-14 from the field), Mirza shot poorly (5-of-17 overall), and the Nets were missing three key contributors. Not totally surprised with the bad showing and bad loss, but the setback does everything but guarantee that Brooklyn will be the East’s No. 5 seed for the playoffs.
Looking Ahead
The Nets head home to play the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at Barclays.
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