The Brooklyn Nets have championship aspirations this season, and they took the first step along that journey on Sunday in Los Angeles.
The Nets opened the 2021-22 preseason with a 123-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. The Nets played without their big three of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, while the Lakers were without LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.
Brooklyn jumped out to an early 12-point lead, and Bruce Brown had his fingerprints all over that run, going 2-for-2 from deep in that span. Lakers star Anthony Davis got loose early on, too, scoring six points in 11 minutes, before getting subbed out for the rest of the game.
The Nets shot 45% from the field in the first half and won the rebounding battle, 26-17. Cameron Thomas (12 PTS) led all scorers at the half and Talen Horton-Tucker (10 PTS) led all scorers for the Lakers.
In the third quarter, Los Angeles came storming back, trimming the deficit to as little as three to end the period. Unfortunately for them, Dwight Howard got caught up with a cheap foul on Nets big man Day’Ron Sharpe, and received a flagrant foul. The veteran was also given a technical foul while the referees were reviewing the replay and this put an end to his night.
Nevertheless, this did not stop the Nets from closing out the game. Brooklyn’s latest acquisition, Paul Millsap (10 PTS, 10 REBS), put together a double-double performance.
The young guys for the Nets in Thomas (21 PTS), Kessler Edwards (9 PTS), Day’Ron Sharpe (13 PTS, 6 REBS) and David Duke Jr. (13 PTS) shined in the half. The lead ballooned to as many as 25, but the Nets settled for a 123-97 win in the end.