Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton has been showing a lot of what he can do over the course of this season. He has shown that he is a game-changing defensive player, an quickly-improving offensive player, and that he can talk a big game, whether for himself or for his teammates.
In Saturday’s 129-100 win over the Miami Heat, Claxton had 14 points (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field), 10 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in 34 minutes of playing time. Over the course of the game, Claxton showed that he was able to keep Bam Adebayo in check as he scored just 16 points in a win that the Heat needed to win to stay in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
While the first half of the game was tightly contested, Brooklyn came out in the third quarter and completely dominated the game thanks in part to Claxton. He had another double-double for Brooklyn in a must-win scenario and he was tied for the game-high in plus/minus with Mikal Bridges at +31. Claxton spoke after the game about how competitive the Nets can be when they are doing what they’re supposed to do:
“Our defensive intensity picked up and we started getting stops. Then, we knocked down shots, the game was pretty much that simple. I think that we definitely went out and when we’re knocking down shots, getting stops, I mean, we’re a tough team to beat.”
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