Nic Claxton Nets’ lone bright spot in 117-97 loss to Bucks

The Brooklyn Nets couldn’t handle Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton on Saturday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton were too much for the Brooklyn Nets to handle on Saturday. The Milwaukee duo combined for 49 points on 19-for-32 shooting, helping the Bucks cruise to a 117-97 win over the Nets at Barclays Center.

The Nets weren’t nearly as efficient as their counterparts on Saturday. As a team, Brooklyn shot 33.3% from the floor and 30.6% from 3-point territory.

Brooklyn’s most efficient scorer was none other than Nets rookie Nic Claxton, who was called up from his G League assignment with Long Island to fill in for the injured DeAndre Jordan. In his 19 minutes of work, Claxton scored 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

The rookie also had six rebounds and blocked three shots.

Kyrie Irving led the Nets with 17 points on 6-for-15 shooting (2-for-6 from deep). He also had six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Taurean Prince scored 13 points on 4-for-15 shooting (3-for-12 from 3-point territory).

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 11 points. In 20 minutes of work, Luwawu-Cabarrot went 3-for-5 from the floor (2-for-3 from long-range) and 2-for-2 at the line to finish with 10 points.

Jarrett Allen only scored five points, but he grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots.