Quantcast

Nets’ slow start proves too much in loss to Nuggets

Note: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links, Schneps Media may earn a commission.
Nets
Brooklyn Nets’ Dorian Finney-Smith, left, and Spencer Dinwiddie, right, defend Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 19, 2023, in New York.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig

BROOKLYN — The Denver Nuggets may not have looked like themselves when they faced the Knicks, but the Nets got a not-so-friendly reminder of why they are the top team in the Western Conference.

Brooklyn struggled for nearly all of the game shooting a dismal 12-of-35 from three-point range and below 50% from the field in a 108-102 loss to the Nuggets. The Nets held a lead for less than a minute before the Nuggets took control and never took their foot off the gas. 

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK

Get a $1,500 First-Bet Offer!

CLAIM NOW
PROMO CODE:
AMNY1500
21+ and present in Participating states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.$1,500!
FIRST-BET OFFER!
CLAIM OFFER

Denver had three players — Jamal Murry, Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr, — finish with 20 points or more and as a team, the Nuggets shot better than 50% from the field and beyond the arc. 

“Somehow we’ve come home and lacked a little bit of energy and juice to start the game,” Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said. “Happened verse (Sacramento) and happened again tonight. So I think the starts of the game are important for us just for confidence-wise. Just for setting the tone and I think early on they were the aggressors and they set the tone of the game.”

Sunday’s game was the second of a four-game homestand at Barclays Center and now the Nets are slated to host the Cleveland Cavaliers in their next two games. The Nets are trying to stay in front of the Miami Heat, who entered Sunday two games back from Brooklyn for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. 

While the Nets struggled for most of the game, they did manage to close the gap late and put a little fear into the Nuggets. Brooklyn cut a 19-point lead down to 9 with just over three minutes to play after several made free throws from f Day’Ron Sharpe. 

The Nuggets pushed it back to double digits after a basket from Aaron Gordon with 2:03 left in the game. Cam Thomas made it a nine-point game after hitting a three with less than a minute and Seth Curry shrunk it to six, but it was too little too late. 

“The frustrating thing is just when they don’t go in,” Cam Johnson said about the Nets’ struggles from three-point range. “They felt good, you know, I’m sure everybody who shot him felt thought they felt good today. There’s not going in right now. And I can only speak on myself personally, but it’s life as a basketball player. If it was easy, everybody would be shooting threes and making them so you got to weather storms and continue to shoot.

“But it’s tough because I thought we had a lot of good looks tonight. A lot of good looks that just went in and out and sometimes games are like that, but we can’t let it affect us on the defensive end and continue to shoot them when we get those opportunities.” 

Mikal Bridges finished the game with 23 points and shot 8-of-18 from the field. Nic Claxton had 19 and pulled down eight boards and had an assist. 

Nets
Denver Nuggets’ Bruce Brown (11) drives to the basket past Brooklyn Nets defenders during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 19, 2023, in New York.AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Cam Johnson put up 14 for the Nets in the loss, but struggled from the floor shooting 5-of-13, while Seth Curry had 12 points off the bench and had four three-pointers. 

The Nets were doomed by another slow start that seemed to doom them on Sunday. After a Johnson layup to start the game gave Brooklyn the lead, Porter Jr. quickly answered back with a three.

Dorian Finney-smith scored on a cutting layup to give the Nets the lead back briefly before Denver grabbed another lead and never looked back. A three with 4:02 left in the first quarter from Murry gave the Nuggets their first double-digit lead. 

Murry, who had 20 of his 25 points in the first quarter alone, continued to get shots to drop in the opening period. A stepback jumper by Murray late in the second quarter gave the Nuggets their largest lead of the half, which was 17.

For more Nets coverage, visit amNY.com and our affiliate site at TheBrooklynGame.com

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK

Get a $1,500 First-Bet Offer!

CLAIM NOW
PROMO CODE:
AMNY1500
21+ and present in Participating states. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.$1,500!
FIRST-BET OFFER!
CLAIM OFFER