Brooklyn Nets give Denver Nuggets everything they could handle in 144-139 Loss

Barclays Center is expected to be one of the most popular venues for “get right” games during this NBA season. Tonight, it was the Denver Nuggets, 2023 champs who have title expectations but were feeling rather weighed down by a 1-2 start to their season, dropped in hoping to make a last-minute reservation.

The Nets and Dennis Schröder kept them on hold for as long as they could, longer than anyone probably thought they would, but eventually they had to seat Nikola Jokic and company.

Final: Denver Nuggets 144, Brooklyn Nets 139

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Aside from it being Brooklyn’s second home game and a well-earned “we’re back” statement for Denver, tonight was also a bit of a reunion for Jordi Fernández, who spent time with Michael Malone in Denver and Cleveland. Before anyone took the floor tonight, he took some time pregame to shout out his most notable pupil from those days in the Mile High City, one Nikola Jokic.

“It’s a good question,” said Fernández, when asked if he has any special insight on how to slow down the three-time MVP. “No, I don’t, because Nikola is unbelievable and he always finds out a way to be productive.”

Well, no one would ever accuse the coach of lying. Jokic ended up going for a cool 29 points, 16 assists, and 18 rebounds for the game, numbers reached only twice before, both by Oscar Robertson, a long time ago. But Fernandez certainly had more tricks up his sleeve than he was willing to mention pregame, probably for the better.

Brooklyn came out putting Dorian-Finney Smith on Jokic — an intriguing move that countered the Joker’s size and high game IQ with DFS’s speed and athleticism. With Noah Clowney starting rather than Nic Claxton, it was a nimble chess move that kept the 20-year-old ‘Bama product away from a game-long “welcome to the league” moment.

Clowney, fresh off a game where he tied a career-high with three made triples, helped space the floor for Brooklyn to begin this one. That, along with a hyper-aggressive Dennis Schröder, allowed the Nets to catch fire from deep early. Brooklyn came out of the gate with the safety off on all their long range artillery weapons, going 7-of-13 from three in the first. That helped them jet out to a 40-27 lead that had The ‘Clays rocking and surely everyone back in Denver red in the face.

Schröder’s hot start was followed closely and later surpassed in temperature by Cam Johnson, who added 20 points tonight while shooting 6-of-10 from deep. He started the game 5-of-5 from downtown, simmering off only after halftime…

Much like they did against Milwaukee, Brooklyn really let it fly tonight, putting up 52 attempts from deep for the game. But shooting wasn’t the only thing that translated over from the home opener to its sequel. Brooklyn’s hustle was back at both ends of the floor as well. Ziaire Williams, who also happened to splash 4-of-5 triples and is now 8-of-12 for the season, gave the Nets great burn in 22 minutes of play, bringing 18 points and four assists to the table.

“Energy,” said Fernández, when asked pregame about what’s stood out for Z-Dub so far this year. “He brings all that energy off the bench and that’s contagious. We keep telling the guys mistakes are going to happen, but if you can cover with more effort, and that’s what Ziaire does. Ziaire’s been just unbelievable.”

Nonetheless, with the Nuggets being the Nuggets, they had to become the Nuggets at some point — and they did. Denver cut Brooklyn’s once 17-point lead to nine at the break. Brooklyn kept shooting it at a high clip, enjoying a shot diet that any basketball modernist would celebrate with 20 of the team’s 21 shots in the second period either being in the paint or from three.

But at the other end, it was Michael Porter Jr. giving Brooklyn a taste of its own medicine that tightened the gap. The now six-year vet did his best CJ impersonation, going 3-of-3 from deep in the second. He finished the contest with 16 points while shooting 4-of-7 on tres.

Denver’s once slow creep-up on Brooklyn accelerated in the second half after Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray contributed with a quick five points that needed a timeout from Fernández before they were answered. A more sluggish period which saw the Nets burn two challenges then ensued. Brooklyn managed to stiff arm Denver at a four-to-six point difference for almost the entire quarter. Some timely threes, thanks to Schröder, Finney-Smith, Thomas, and Jalen Wilson in that order kept them afloat…

Ironically, Johnson’s first make from inside the arc came in the third as well, and was arguably his best of the game on an acrobatic up and under lay.

Regardless, Brooklyn trotted into the final frame with a 99-96 lead, a great spot to be in against a team with superior personnel, but one a bit stained by feelings of uneasiness, as just the exoskeleton of their once sizable lead remained intact. That stared them in the face along with that acknowledged disparity in talent.

The Nuggets wasted little time proving those queasy feelings well warranted. A corner triple from Peyton Watson that tied the game followed by a layup from Russell Westbrook gave Denver its first lead since around the six minute mark of the first.

The Nets continued to probe inside for high percentage looks inside and drive-and-kick for high potency looks outside as the clock bled down, but it was the shots that came after misses, tips, and dives across the hardwood that made the difference in the fourth period’s stretch run.

Brooklyn brought a level of hustle that would have been foreign to last year down the stretch of this one to earn extra possessions and make the mountain men sweat. Williams played a large part in that midway through the fourth just as he did as a tone-setter in the first.

Still, any lead either team managed to carve out was minimal for the closing frame’s entirety. It wasn’t until the final two minutes where one team could really sniff a victory, that being the odds-defying Nets once more.

After one tough Thomas take that put the Nets back in front by one with 1:23 to go, Finney-Smith presented us with maybe the best defensive possession of his Brooklyn tenure, forcing a miss in isolation against Jamal Murray — a guy synonymous with blood below 32 degrees fahrenheit.

Thomas then hit an even tougher fadeaway jumper at the baseline the next time down. It was a shot we’ve seen him hit for years now, but haven’t seen him bury in the clutch in a long time.

It wasn’t his best game, with the two-guard shooting 8-of-22 from the field as Malone threw an array of his defenders at him. But that should’ve, or could’ve been a moment to remember for him. Both he and Fernández illustrated their displeasure with his lack of calls in different ways postgame.

“I think CT played hard on both ends,” said Fernández. “He was engaged. I’m happy with him shooting eight threes. A couple of those shots, it should have been fouls that they didn’t call. Cam Thomas right now, I can tell you that he’s one of the top scorers in the NBA, and he did not get treated like Trae Young in the first game. He shot one free throw to whatever. Today, he didn’t get treated the same way.”

The Nuggets shot 47 free throws tonight, while the Nets were awarded just 27. Indeed, so far, the number of calls against the Nets is looking historic.

“I think it’s human nature to give a call to a three time MVP, NBA champion, and then you look at the other side, and you don’t do it the same way, but at some point they’ll have to look at CT, look at all a lot of our guys the same way,” Fernández added.

When Thomas was asked if he’s getting an unfair whistle this season, he took a long, long pause, then chuckled.

“I guess I’m not going to the basket hard enough, I guess,” Thomas said after. “I got to figure out a way to get the calls and hope they call it.”

Finney-Smith could not replicate his clutch play at one end on the other. After a Jokic tip-in that cut it to one, DFS first split a pair of free throws that could have collectively put the Nets up three with under 24 seconds to play. That opened the door for Jokic to tie things with an easy finish inside, which he promptly did.

Then with eight seconds to go, Brooklyn did all the hard stuff, managing to advance the ball and set up a man with an open look at the buzzer, but fumbled the finale, as Finney-Smith found iron rather than nylon once again and punched everyone’s ticket to overtime with the score at 125-125.

It was in the extra frame where Denver’s experience finally worked to their benefit. Slowing things down on their end, they jumped out to a six-point lead that in overtime periods often feels like 15. Brooklyn missed shots here and there and soon found themselves fouling to get the ball back. As time ticked away, they eventually ceded the game.

The close nature of this contest might have made you forget that the Nets are a rebuilding team, one with the luxury of getting to enjoy “moral victories.” Now with the dust settled, we’re reminded that that’s what they are. But they competed and gave Denver everything they could handle. Perhaps that’s the real victory for Brooklyn — and one that’ll lead to real ones down the pipeline.

“The fact that we fought against a team like this, to me, it means a lot to our group, and we know that that next step is going to help us break through against not just a good team, but a great team with an unbelievable player that put up an unbelievable performance,” said Fernández. “So proud of our guys.”

Injury Update

Fernández gave somewhat of an update on Trendon Watford pregame, who’s yet to start his season after going down with a hamstring strain in training camp alongside Day’Ron Sharpe.

“Trendon, he’s doing great,” said Fernández. “Everything is going as planned and we’ll give an update soon. We expect him to be available in the next few — I mean, I don’t know exactly when — but soon.”

Fernández also spoke on Ben Simmons before tipoff, after the team announced he’d be held out tonight for “lower back injury maintenance” so he can play tomorrow vs the Grizzlies in the latter half of a back-to-back sequence. While Fernández didn’t rule Simmons out of back-to-backs for good like Ben10’s old teammate did in Philly, he did say they’ll continue to do so for now.

“With Ben, the plan is, for now, not to play back to backs until we give a different update,” the coach said. “He’ll be available tomorrow. I’m not gonna give you exact minutes, but he’ll play good minutes.”

Milestone Watch

• Dennis Schröder (25 points) and Cam Thomas (26 points) have scored 20+ points in each of the last three games. They’re the first Nets starting backcourt to tally 20+ points in three straight games since March 2021 – James Harden and Kyrie Irving (via Elias).
• Dennis Schröder’s 12th assist of the night matches his highest assist total in a Nets uniform. He previously handed out 12 assists in his Nets debut on 2/10/24 vs. San Antonio. He’s exceeded 12 assists five times in his career (most recently: 2020-21 with the Lakers).
• Ziaire Williams has scored 16 points off the bench tonight (6-of-7 FG, 4-of-5 3FG). Williams has matched his career high with four 3-pointers made. He is now 8-of-12 for the season, a big improvement over his career 30.1% average.
• When Cam Johnson tallied 15 points (5-of-5 3FG) in 15 first-half minutes tonight it was the 11th instance in franchise history of a player making five or more 3-pointers without a miss in a half. It was first time for a Net in a first half since Joe Harris (6-of-6) on 11/12/21 at New Orleans.
• The Nets recorded 20 assists and just one turnover in tonight’s first half. The 20:1 assist-to-turnover ratio is Brooklyn’s best in any half since 3/11/21 at Chicago (20:1 in the first half).

Next Up

Brooklyn plays their first back-to-back game vs on the road tomorrow vs the Memphis Grizzlies. The Nets split their games vs Girt and Grind last year. The Grizzlies are 2-2 to start the year, having beaten the Jazz and Magic but dropped games to the Rockets and Bulls.

It will also be a homecoming for Ziaire Williams who the Grizzlies gave up on in July and sent him to Brooklyn in salary dump so they could sign Luke Kennard. ZW has intimated that he was not crazy about the way he was treated, but mentioned that he’s still close with a number of the Memphis players, having even texted with them as early as this afternoon.