Nets Lose Game of Runs, Fall to Cavaliers In Final Seconds

Brooklyn nearly pulled it off again.

Nov 9, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder (17) brings the ball up court beside Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) in the first quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets had a chance to avenge last night's heartbreaking 108-104 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics but followed a similar fate against the NBA's top team. They battled hard, but the Nets fell to their former head coach Kenny Atkinson and the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-100 on the road.

The first quarter belonged to Cleveland and Donovan Mitchell. Despite disruptive defense from Brooklyn, it didn't seem to matter as the Cavaliers delivered from beyond the arc with ease. Four of Cleveland's six three-pointers came courtesy of Mitchell, but timely answers from the Nets kept the contest close.

Nearly every trey ball from the Cavaliers was answered with one from Brooklyn, albeit at a lower rate. Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith added two apiece, and Shake Milton tallied one off the bench. While unable to contain the offensive juggernaut that is Cleveland, the Nets managed to escape the opening stanza trailing 34-28.

Brooklyn's performance in the second quarter signified two things. First, the Nets offense is exponentially better when Ben Simmons is on the floor. As the two-time All-Star sat out the second half of a back-to-back, Brooklyn sorely missed Simmons' elite facilitating. Second, this squad possesses so much grit.

Even after finding themselves down 15 on the losing end of an 11-2 run against the best team in the NBA, the Nets didn't quit. They went right back to work as Cam Thomas finally got involved, tallying seven points in the quarter. Brooklyn held the Cavaliers without a point for over three minutes, orchestrating a 12-0 run of its own and nearly evening the score. Once flatlining, the Nets only trailed by two at the halftime break.

To say Brooklyn built on the strong finish to the first half would be an understatement. On the first possession of the third quarter, Thomas tied the game inside. Then, he got fouled and handed the Nets a two-point lead at the charity stripe. This sequence served as the foundation for a monstrous 9-0 run in the opening two minutes, and following a Schröder three, concluded a 33-5 Brooklyn run dating back to the five-minute mark in the second quarter.

Things only got uglier for Cleveland from that point. The Nets forced the Cavaliers into another three-minute-long scoring drought, forcing the undefeated squad onto its heels. Unlike in previous matchups, Brooklyn fired on all cylinders in the third and held an 82-70 advantage with 12 minutes to play.

Unfortunately, the Nets' typical third-quarter collapse just delayed itself to the fourth quarter. Thanks to a masterful performance inside from Evan Mobley, Cleveland orchestrated runs of 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0 to battle back to its first lead since the second quarter. Johnson, Schröder and Thomas gave their best effort, but the Kenny Atkinson-led Cavaliers are simply a machine. No matter what is thrown at them, they've prevailed through the first 11 games of the 2024-25 campaign.

At the final buzzer, Brooklyn allowed 56 points from the interior, including 23 courtesy of Mobley and became the latest victim of Cleveland's early-season tear.

Now sitting at 4-6, the Nets look to snap their two-game losing streak Monday night against the New Orleans Pelicans in Brooklyn's road trip finale.

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

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