The Nets lost in their season opener to the Atlanta Hawks, 120-116, despite a feverish comeback attempt late in the fourth quarter.
Here are the takeaways…
–Cam Johnson scored the first points of Brooklyn’s season with a dunk off an offensive rebound and an assist by Ben Simmons to get the Nets on the board and cut into an early 6-0 deficit. On the next possession, Simmons made his first shot of the night as the power forward was busy early in this one.
-The Hawks got out to a 13-4 lead, but the Nets answered back with a 9-0 run to tie it up. From there, both sides would, for the most part, trade baskets for the duration of the quarter, although Brooklyn never led at any point while Atlanta’s largest lead reached six points.
-Down 30-24 to begin the second quarter, Nic Claxton got the scoring started with a driving layup. Dennis Schroder (two-pointer) and Jalen Wilson (three-pointer) also scored for the Nets who made their first three shots of the quarter to get to within two points.
-They took the lead on a Ziaire Williams three-ball before Wilson made his second triple of the quarter to extend the advantage to four points. A quick 5-0 spurt by Atlanta later in the frame gave the Hawks a brief one-point lead, but Cam Thomas scored seven of the team’s final 12 points to head into halftime with a 55-51 lead.
-The score stayed tight in the second half despite Brooklyn starting the quarter 3-for-6 from three-point range. In fact, the team’s first six shots after the break were from deep before Thomas was blocked by Dyson Daniels on a driving layup.
-Daniels and Trae Young scored the Hawks’ first 10 points to start the second half. Young eventually gave his team a one-point lead on a floater halfway through the quarter. From there, neither side would have a lead greater than four points and the quarter ended tied at 83.
-Simmons found himself in foul trouble with his fourth with 1:07 remaining in the third and began the final quarter on the bench. He would enter back in with 10:11 left in the game.
-The offense stalled a bit for Brooklyn to begin the fourth quarter and the Hawks were able to pounce, extending what was once a one-point lead to 10 points after a De’Andre Hunter three-pointer.
-The Nets fought back, though, led by Thomas who finished with a game-high 36 points and scored 15 of the team’s final 19 points, including three three-pointers and two in the final 13 seconds to make it a two-point game.
-Thomas finished 14-for-27 from the field (7-of-13 from three) and added five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
-After scoring six points in the first quarter, Simmons finished with six in 24 minutes. He dished out eight assists and grabbed five rebounds, but also had six turnovers.
-Claxton was given a flagrant 2 foul on a hard hit on Daniels in the fourth that did not sit well with Daniels who got in the face of Claxton in the stands.
Game MVP: Cam Thomas
It was in a losing effort, but the shooting guard single-handedly got Brooklyn to within a basket late after taking over in the fourth quarter.
Highlights
What’s next
Brooklyn will have a day off on Thursday before getting back in action on Friday night against the Orlando Magic. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
