It was a another last minute disappointment for Brooklyn Nets fans. With the team trailing by two points with 2.4 seconds left in the game, Mikal Bridges missed two crucial free throws to drop to the Minnesota Timberwolves 96-94.
Thursday’s game at Barclays Center showcased two teams heading in opposite directions. The Timberwolves came into the game sitting atop the Western Conference and leading the league in opponents points allowed, while the Nets are 2-9 since the new year and plummeting down the Eastern Conference standings.
The Timberwolves were led by forward Karl Anthony Towns who had a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while guard Anthony Edwards managed to score 24 points.
Both teams are in the bottom third of team scoring, so it was not a shock that offense was at a premium, when neither team cracked 100 points and one of the most entertaining action on the floor was the HBCU Divine Nine step-show during halftime.
Nets guard Cam Thomas came off the bench to score a team-high 25 points, while Bridges added 21 points and center Nic Claxton had a 16 point ,11 rebound double-double.
The Nets opened the game with a strong 1st quarter, scoring 31 points led by Nic Claxton, who scored 8 points on 4-4 shooting and grabbed three rebounds while also registering a steal and a blocked shot. They followed up with a terrible second quarter when they could only muster 17 points on 28.6% shooting from the field and 18.2% from the three-point line while giving up 36 points to the Timberwolves.
The Nets trailed 60-48 at intermission, and when the Timberwolves opened a 17-point lead early in the 3rd quarter, a blowout loss looked like likely.
And yet the Nets showed resiliency. They clawed back to push the score to 81-74 at the start of the 4th quarter as point guard Spencer Dinwiddie went 3-4 from three-point territory, shaking off trade rumors while playing reduced minutes.
Coach Jacque Vaugh has recently favored point guard Dennis Smith Jr. to close out games, putting Dinwiddie on the bench in crunch time. Vaughn is still tinkering with the rotation as he tries to find the right fit with available players. Guards Lonnie Walker IV, Dennis Smith Jr, Ben Simmons, forward Cam Johnson, and center Nic Claxton have all missed significant time due to injuries, so the Nets have tried different lineups to account for players on the bench in street clothes.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert threw down an alley-oop dunk from Karl Anthony Towns for a 96-94 Wolves lead with 58.1 left in the game.
After fruitless possessions on each end of the floor, Coach Vaughn subbed out Nic Claxton and forward Dorian Finney-Smith to put shooters on the floor for the final shot, but the play suffered from poor execution, resulting in a clumsy shot attempt by Bridges in the paint.
There was a glimmer of hope when Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels fouled Bridges, but he missed both foul shots to send the sellout crowd back home murmuring in disappointment.
The Nets are in the middle of a five-game homestand and take on the Houston Rockets this Saturday.
