BROOKLYN — The game took a bit longer than it ought to have as well as the match was more close than it had to be however the Nets won an easy win over the inexperienced Los Angeles Lakers, 121-104 on the floor of Barclays Center.
What was expected to be a star-studded battle among Anthony Davis and LeBron James and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was not the case. James and Davis have been absent and Durant is out with an MCL injury which has made the game an epic fight between the depth players of both sides.
Kyrie Irving was still leading in scoring for the Nets in scoring 26 points However, that came from Cam Thomas off the bench who scored 21 points and shot 61 percent on the floor. Thomas also went 6-for-6 in the distance during the victory.
Patty Mills also had 21 points in an impressive game by the Aussie sharpshooter. Mills finished with a shooting percentage of 4-for-7 from three and 7-of-12 on the field. Day’Ron Sharpe racked up the game’s most rebounds with 14 and three assists.
Royce O’Neale scored 14 points last night. The night started in a hot fashion for the second time in a row game with consecutive threes.
“It’s why I like basketball as a team. It’s because you do your part knowing that you don’t know the exact time you’ll be called to the line,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said of the bench’s efforts. “We’ve been talking about it trying to make it normal for our team. Then, the next thing you know you’re asked to help. Our players begin off to a strong beginning, but then we score 66 points off the bench. It’s pretty impressive. The guys are ready to play their part.”
It was a slow third quarter that brought the game more competitive than it had to be at the end of Monday’s night. The Lakers made an 14-0 run to begin the second period and eliminate a lead of 58-46 at halftime that the Nets had built up over the first hour in the match.
Thomas Bryant and Troy Brown Jr. assisted in helping to swiftly reduce the lead. Dennis Schroder put up the final basket at 8:47 for Los Angeles the 60-58 edge. Brooklyn was able to take the lead, and lead by five after Royce Neale completed the three-point shot.
Lonnie Walker IV put the Lakers to win by seven after a three-pointer at 2:32 in the third period, however, the Nets made it a tie when the game ended. Patty Mills, Thomas, and Day’Ron sharpe scored shots during a 10-0 run for Brooklyn.
Walker IV brought LA close after which Brooklyn was with a 9-1 streak to build an advantage of 10 points. When Thomas scored with a driving layup with 6:37 remaining the game and the Nets were leading 106-93. advantage.
“Yeah I’m referring to every team is in trouble when we’re not shooting,” Irving said. “I found myself thinking that we could have were able to make a few good shots that were through and out or didn’t work out our way. The large portion of the offense to the Lakers was in the transition. Therefore, we didn’t create a problem for the team and let them play things within a half-court which established our defense up and put us in the best position to win. A few offensive rebounds were theirs.
“I believe we’ve been talking about this during this sort of period where we’ve been doing little things, and when other teams do the little things, they’ll come in and take offensive rebounds and more shots. They’re likely to be able to make a run and maybe two.”
The victory on Monday marked the Nets their second consecutive win and fourth win in their most recent six games. It was also the second straight game where the Nets seem to have put their foot down pedal in the third quarter after having controlled for the initial two periods.
The Nets had a lead of 29-16 in an initial 12 minutes, and were watching as the Lakers made a miserable 27.3 percent from the field. They went for nearly an entire five minutes without scoring an offensive basket.
Brooklyn expanded their lead by 19 at three times during the third quarter.
