NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (12-31) were coming off one of their worst losses in franchise history after Wednesday’s loss at the New York Knicks so it would’ve made sense for the players to let the loss linger in their minds. Despite facing another tough opponent in the visiting Boston Celtics (28-16), Brooklyn played well enough to make it past regulation, but their late-game execution was lacking.
The Nets lost to the Celtics on Friday 130-126 in double overtime despite the fact that Brooklyn was able to make plenty of clutch plays to come back from a 10-point deficit to force the game into overtime. Forward Michael Porter Jr. led the way for the Nets with 30 points and eight rebounds while rookie guard Nolan Traore stepped up down the stretch to the tune of 21 points and three rebounds.
Despite the fact that the Nets did a great job of limiting Celtics guard Jaylen Brown’s scoring impact, he scored 27 points on 9-of-27 shooting from the field, Brown dished out 12 assists and guard Payton Pritchard was the main player that hurt Brooklyn’s defense. The Nets responded well after Wednesday’s blowout loss at the Knicks, but there were just execution issues down the stretch. Here are the Nets player grades following Friday’s loss to the Celtics:
Egor Demin: C
Demin did a good job of shooting the ball from three-point range, but most of his offensive impact occurred in the first quarter as the Celtics did a better job of closing out to his three-point shots. At some point, Demin will have to figure out how else to consistently be a scoring threat when he isn’t getting wide-open looks from behind the three-point line, but for now, his shooting will do.
Drake Powell: C+
Powell was also efficient with his touches as he showed off more of his dribble-drive game when opponents run him off the three-point line, but those moments come few and far between. To Powell’s credit, he has been more aggressive with his offense as of late and once he is able to pair that with his defensive tenacity, he’ll be a contributor on a nightly basis.
Michael Porter Jr.: A
Porter did a good job of scoring the ball in this one and that was a variety of ways in addition to his marksmanship from behind the three-point line. Porter had a bit of a cold spell over the past few games as he couldn’t find his shooting touch, but against Boston, Porter had his shot flowing and he did a good job of switching up his shot diet to keep his defender honest.
Noah Clowney: B-
Clowney struggled shooting the ball in this one, especially from three-point range, despite getting some open looks that he normally makes when he’s feeling like himself. Clowney was decent on the glass, but he also turned the ball over more than he does on average and that was disappointing to see, especially since he doesn’t have the ball in his hands that often. To his credit, Clowney made some huge shots down the stretch of this contested game.
Nic Claxton: A
Claxton got the better of Neemias Queta in this matchup as he turned his chances to attack the big man when he was off-balance and he had some nice finishes at the rim while going around a couple of defenders. Claxton has had better days rebounding the basketball, but he did a good job of setting up his teammates and he protected the rim like Nets fans are used to.
Ziaire Williams: C+
Williams has been playing some of his best basketball since coming back from his illness and while he didn’t shoot the ball well, he did plenty of other things to impact the game outside of his shooting. Recently, Williams has shown the ability to add a sidestep to his game as he drives to the basket and as always, he brought the intensity on the defensive end of the floor. Williams played well enough to see the clutch-time minutes for Brooklyn towards the end of the game.
Danny Wolf: C+
Wolf was efficient scoring the ball, especially when it came to driving to the rim as he seems to have some trouble with that at the NBA level. Aside from that, Wolf did a good job of rebounding the basketball, made some nice passes while taking care of the basketball, and he played some solid defense against one of the best offensive teams in the league in the Celtics.
Day’Ron Sharpe: C
Sharpe has had more impactful games than he did in this one as he struggled to use his physicality to score at the basket against Boston’s front line. Sharpe did a great job of rebounding the basketball, but he also turned the ball over more than he normally does through a variety of offensive fouls and mishandling of the ball.
Cam Thomas: C-
Thomas struggled shooting the ball once again and his outing was interesting as he seemed to ebb and flow from being a facilitator to looking for his shot. Granted, Thomas missed most of his shots that he can make in his sleep so at this point, it’s worth wondering how long it will take for him to bring out of his current slump and get back to being that superscorer off the bench.
Nolan Traore: A
Traore did a great job of scoring the ball overall as his confidence appeared to grow by the dribble, especially int he fourth quarter when he close as the starting point guard over Egor Demin. Traore has had his fair share of shooting struggles over the course of the season, but he did a great job of being decisive with his dribble and trusting himself to make the right play at the right time. Traore showed what he can be when he embraces how fast he is with a live dribble and that seems to be why head coach Jordi Fernandez stuck with him down the stretch.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades after 130-126 double overtime loss to Celtics
