Tag: player grades

Player grades: Mikal Bridges drops 28 as Nets lose to Kyrie Irving, Mavericks 119-107

Here are the Brooklyn Nets player grades following Tuesday’s 119-107 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Kyrie Irving’s return to Brooklyn.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Dallas Mavericks to Barclays center on Tuesday for Kyrie Irving’s return to Brooklyn for the first time since his trade from the team last season and lost 119-107.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 28 points and four assists while Royce O’Neale had 18 points and six rebounds off the bench. Cam Thomas had 16 points and Jalen Wilson had 10 points off the bench.

For the Mavericks, Kyrie Irving had 36 points and five assists while Luka Doncic had 35 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 14 points and Josh Green had 12 points.

In the first half, the Mavericks took control of this game by attacking the Nets’ defensive scheme of doubling Luka Doncic on the catch. To make matters worse for Brooklyn, Irving scored 21 points in the half and had little difficulty making shots.

In the second half, the Nets actually played better than the Mavericks thanks to some of Dallas’ supporting cast missing shots that they were making in the first half. However, Irving and Doncic proved to be too much for Brooklyn as the Mavericks never let the game get too close thanks to the efforts of their superstar duo.

Here are your Nets player grades following Tuesday’s loss:

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 18 points as Nets lose to Warriors 109-98

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Monday’s 109-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Golden State Warriors at Barclays Center on Monday and lost 109-98.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 18 points and five rebounds while Nic Claxton had 15 points, five rebounds, and seven blocks. Royce O’Neale had 15 points off the bench and Cam Johnson had 13 points.

For the Warriors, Stephen Curry had 29 points and five rebounds while Jonathan Kuminga had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Brandin Podziemski had 15 points and Gui Santos had nine points off the bench.

In the first half, both teams shot the ball poorly as neither squad could find much of a rhythm within their offense. Johnson was the best player for Brooklyn as he put up 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the half to help give Brooklyn a 49-43 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Nets started to lose momentum of the game thanks to how poorly they played on both ends of the floor in the third quarter combined with the Warriors having their best quarter by far. O’Neale got hot from three in the fourth quarter, but with Thomas and Bridges still struggling mightily, Brooklyn wasn’t able to mount a comeback.

Here are your Nets player grades following Monday’s loss:

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 40 as Nets throttle 76ers 136-121

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Saturday’s 136-121 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

PHILADELPHIA — The Brooklyn Nets visited Wells Fargo Center on Saturday to take on the Philadelphia 76ers and won 136-121.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 40 points and five assists while Mikal Bridges had 23 points and four assists. Lonnie Walker IV had 20 points off the bench and Cam Johnson had 13 points.

For the 76ers, Tyrese Maxey had 23 points and five assists while Terquavion Smith had 17 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 16 points and Jaden Springer had 11 points off the bench.

In the first half, the Nets dominated in the first quarter thanks to some outstanding play from both sides of the ball, including four Brooklyn players with at least seven points in the period. However, Brooklyn played Philadelphia to a standstill in the second quarter after Maxey got back on track with his shooting.

In the second half, it was more of the same as it became clear that Maxey could not get it going enough to shoot the 76ers back into this game without the services of Joel Embiid. Philadelphia essentially waived the white flag towards the end of the third quarter as the 76ers could not stop the Nets and could not score at an efficient rate either.

Here are your Nets player grades following Saturday’s win:

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 25 as Nets flop in Kevin Durant’s return 136-120

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Wednesday’s 136-120 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Kevin Durant’s return to Brooklyn.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns to Barclays Center on Wednesday and lost 136-120.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 25 points and four assists while Mikal Bridges had 21 points and three rebounds. Cam Johnson had 18 points and Spencer Dinwiddie had 16 points.

For the Suns, Kevin Durant had 33 points and eight assists while Jusuf Nurkic had 28 points and 11 rebounds. Devin Booker had 22 points and Eric Gordon had 17 points.

In the first half, both teams played each other to a standstill essentially as neither team could stop the other from scoring at will. Without Ben Simmons, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Day’Ron Sharpe for this game, Brooklyn had quite the issue matching up against Durant (16 points) and Jusuf Nurkic (17 points).

In the second half, this game got out of hand in the third quarter as the Suns put on quite the run by winning the period 42-26 thanks to the dominance of Durant and Nurkic. The Nets were able to play the Suns evenly in the fourth quarter, but when you’re down almost 20 points, you have to create some edges and Brooklyn wasn’t able to make a dent in the huge deficit.

Here are your Nets player grades following Wednesday’s loss:

Player grades: Mikal Bridges drops 33 as Nets beat Jazz 147-114

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Monday’s 147-114 win over the Utah Jazz.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Utah Jazz to Barclays Center on Monday and won 147-114.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 33 points and four assists while Cam Thomas had 25 points and seven rebounds. Lonnie Walker IV had 19 points off the bench and Cam Johnson had 17 points.

For the Jazz, Keyonte George had 21 points and four rebounds off the bench while John Collins had 15 points and seven rebounds. Lauri Markkanen had 13 points and Jordan Clarkson had 13 points off the bench.

In the first half, the Nets had a great start to this game as they outscored the Jazz 43-28 in the first quarter thanks to Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges, and Ben Simmons. Simmons returned for the first time since Nov. 6 and he put up two points, six rebounds, and seven assists in the first half.

In the second half, Brooklyn continued to play well as the Jazz tried their best to make a charge in the third quarter, but to no avail as the Nets continued their high-octane scoring. In the dreaded fourth quarter, Brooklyn managed to not only hang on to their lead, but increased to the point that they forced Utah to waive the white flag halfway through the period.

Here are your Nets player grades following Monday’s win:

Player grades: Cam Thomas scores 37 as Nets beat Rockets 106-104

Here are your Brooklyn Nets’ player grades following Saturday’s 106-104 win over the Houston Rockets.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Houston Rockets at Barclays Center on Saturday and won 106-104.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 37 points and three assists while Mikal Bridges had 19 points and three steals. Dorian Finney-Smith had 19 points and Nic Claxton had 10 points.

For the Rockets, Jalen Green had 19 points and 10 rebounds while Dillon Brooks had 19 points and five rebounds. Cam Whitmore had 19 points off the bench and Alperen Sengun had 15 points.

In the first half, the Nets began this game with an utter domination on both ends of the floor as Brooklyn played arguably its best quarter of the season against a formidable opponent. In the second quarter, the Rockets were able to play the period to a standstill with the Nets thanks to the efforts of Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet to pick up the scoring load.

In the second half, this game flipped on its head as Houston found a way to continue its competitiveness that they started in the second quarter. The fourth quarter is where the Rockets took this game from a blowout to a game where everyone in Barclays Center had to wondering whether the Nets were going to blow a 28-point lead to lose narrowly at home. Thankfully, time saved Brooklyn in this one.

Here are your Nets player grades following Saturday’s win:

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 25 as Nets lose to Timberwolves 96-94

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Thursday’s 96-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Minnesota Timberwolves to Barclays Center on Thursday and lost 96-94.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 25 points and six rebounds while Mikal Bridges had 21 points and three assists. Nic Claxton had 16 points and Spencer Dinwiddie had 14 points.

For the Timberwolves, Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 10 rebounds while Anthony Edwards had 24 points and three assists. Mike Conley had 10 points and Rudy Gobert had 10 points.

In the first half, it was a tale of two quarters as the Nets appeared to have the advantage in the first quarter thanks to the play of Cam Thomas (13 points) and Nic Claxton. However, Minnesota turned things around in the second half as Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards started to put their imprints on the game to lead by 12 points at halftime.

In the second half, the Nets started to gain the advantage as they began to clamp down defensively and continued to get offensive contributions from Thomas and Bridges. Brooklyn took this game down to the end, but Minnesota’s length across their lineup was just too much for the Nets to overcome down the stretch.

Here are your Nets player grades following Thursday’s loss:

Player grades: Mikal Bridges has 36 as Nets lose to Knicks 108-103

Here are your Brooklyn Nets player grades following Tuesday’s 108-103 loss to the New York Knicks.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the New York Knicks to Barclays Center on Tuesday as part of Rivals Week and lost 108-103.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 36 points and five assists while Cam Johnson had 19 points and five rebounds. Cam Thomas had 14 points off the bench and Nic Claxton had eight points.

For the Knicks, Julius Randle had 30 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists while Jalen Brunson had 30 points and four assists. Donte DiVincenzo had 11 points and OG Anunoby had 10 points.

In the first half, it was a back-and-forth contest as neither team could sustain efficient offense for a decent stretch. Mikal Bridges did his best to keep the Nets in the game as he scored 15 points in the half, but Jalen Brunson scored 18 points for the Knicks.

In the second half, the Nets took control of the game in the third quarter as they were able to force Randle and Brunson into some tough shots while forcing some turnovers out of the Knicks which led to some easy points. However, as has been the case throughout this season, the Nets let go of the rope in the fourth quarter in a disappointing way as they allowed the Knicks to change the game with their physicality and timely shot-making from Randle and Brunson.

Here are your Nets player grades following Tuesday’s loss:

Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 26 as Nets lose to Clippers 125-114

Here are the Brooklyn Nets player grades following Sunday’s 125-114 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Crypto.com Arena on Sunday to take on the Los Angeles Clippers and lost 125-114.

For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 26 points, six rebounds, and five assists while Cam Thomas had 20 points and six assists off the bench. Spencer Dinwiddie had 16 points and Nic Claxton had 16 points.

For the Clippers, James Harden had 24 points and 10 assists while Russell Westbrook had 23 points, nine rebounds, and six assists off the bench. Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and Terance Mann had 13 points.

In the first half, it seemed like the Nets were going to run away with this one after starting the first quarter with a 16-0 run. However, after the Clippers put forth a massive run of their own to get back into the game, the game was closely contested until the second quarter when Brooklyn was able to create some cushion thanks to contributions from Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie.

In the second half, the Nets continued their dominance from what they did in the first half until things changed in the fourth quarter. The game turned once there were less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter as the Clippers ended the game on a 22-0 run thanks to some great plays out of Harden and Leonard.

Here are your Nets player grades following Sunday’s loss:

Player grades: Cam Thomas drops 33 as Nets beat Lakers 130-112

Here are the Brooklyn Nets player grades following Friday’s 130-112 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Brooklyn Nets visited Crypto.com Arena on Friday to continue their west coast road trip against the Los Angeles Lakers and won 130-112.

For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 33 points and four assists while Nic Claxton had 22 points and 14 rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie had 19 points and Mikal Bridges had 17 points.

For the Lakers, Anthony Davis had 26 points and 12 rebounds while LeBron James had 24 points and five assists. D’Angelo Russell had 20 points and Jarred Vanderbilt had 12 points off the bench.

In the first half, this game was a shootout as neither team could figure out how to stop the other. Thomas was incredible for the Nets off the bench as he put up 20 points and four assists to help Brooklyn hang around enough to go into halftime trailing 68-62.

In the second half, the Nets ran away with things in the third quarter thanks to them winning the period 38-22 because of some great play from Dinwiddie and Claxton. The fourth quarter was a continuation of the third and Los Angeles eventually threw in the towel to signal Brooklyn’s victory before the final buzzer.

Here are your Nets player grades following Friday’s win: