Cam Thomas' Late Surge Not Enough as Brooklyn Nets Fall in Season-Opener

Brooklyn couldn't get out of its own way in the narrow loss.

Oct 23, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson (2) dribbles against Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets opened their 2024-25 regular season in a drama-filled contest against the Atlanta Hawks, falling just short in a tightly contested 120-116 defeat.

Atlanta got off to a hot start, jumping out to an early 13-4 lead. Brooklyn answered quickly, though, orchestrating a quick 7-0 run thanks to the facilitating from Ben Simmons and high-intensity defense by Ziaire Williams. The contest remained close but low-scoring, largely due to some lackluster shooting by the Nets. Despite creating solid looks, Brooklyn couldn't seem to take the lid off the basket.

It became extremely evident that head coach Jordi Fernandez's up-tempo offensive scheme is far more effective when Simmons and Dennis Schröder are not on the floor together. Once the three-time All-Star subbed out, Schröder began creating for himself en route to seven points in the opening stanza. Despite a stronger offensive output down the stretch, the Nets found themselves down six at the end of the first quarter.

Brooklyn's balanced attack generated a 10-0 run early in the second quarter, but interior dominance from Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu prevented the Nets from pulling away. When Trae Young wasn't on the floor, the majority of the Hawk's points came by way of second chance, as they continued to capitalize on Nic Claxton's minutes restriction.

Come halftime, Brooklyn boasted five players with at least six points, including an all-around 6-5-5 performance from Simmons. The early rally resulted in a short but stable lead for the Nets, who possessed a four-point advantage at the break.

The third quarter played witness to some sloppy basketball from both sides. Brooklyn suddenly couldn't take care of the ball while picking up countless ticky-tack fouls, including Simmons' fourth. He would take a four-minute break on the bench before re-entering the action, but the damage had been done, leading to 14 free-throw attempts for the hosts.

Fortunately, Atanta couldn't muster much off of the Nets' miscues outside of the opportunities from the charity stripe. Okongwu, on his way to a career night, continued to gash Brooklyn inside, yet it didn't reflect on the scoreboard. Heading into the final quarter of the season-opener, the game remained knotted at 83 apiece.

The fourth began with more high-tension dramatics than actual gameplay. Claxton decked Dyson Daniels on a fast break in what was clearly a flagrant foul, but the fireworks didn't go off until the two started jawing at one another in the fifth row of the stands. Claxton was ejected and Daniels was assessed a technical, but Brooklyn managed to escape the sequence with an advantage by connecting on one free-throw before Daniels missed both of his chances at the line.

Merely seconds later, chaos erupted again. A hard foul from Cam Thomas on De'Andre Hunter sparked even more tensity, this time between Thomas and Okongwu, forcing the officials to separate both teams for a second time.

Thomas scored 20 of his 36 points in the 4th, cutting Atlanta's10-point lead built off the theatrics to as low as two, but the Nets couldn't escape foul trouble in the final seconds of the game. Fernandez's crew fought hard in their first glimpse of regular season action but came up just short in Atlanta.

Brooklyn travels to Orlando to take on the Magic on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. EST in search of its first victory.

To access the final box score from the Brooklyn Nets' loss to the Atlanta Hawks, click here.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Nets on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.