© John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
Brooklyn struggles in a 107-119 loss to the visiting Dallas Mavericks
The main story for this game was the return of Kyrie Irving to the Barclays Center. It was an uneventful return compared to Kevin Durant’s just a week earlier, who got a video tribute and a raucous crowd. Irving only got a “Thank you” graphic alongside former Nets, Seth Curry and Markieff Morris.
That did not affect Irving’s play because he was a standout, scoring 36 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 119-107 victory. Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges was the best player for the Nets with 28 points, but Nic Claxton was superb with nine points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks.
“I thought Nic’s ability on dodge as we switch things up to guard him and to really get some stops was impressive. I mean, Nic has been playing some unbelievable basketball, probably the best that I’ve seen him since I’ve been around him,” Coach Vaughn said in the interview after the loss.
The Nets were shorthanded
While Ben Simmons played in this game, he only logged 20 minutes due to the restrictions on his playtime. That meant Bridges and Cameron Thomas had to play heavy minutes on the second night of a back-to-back.
The fatigue set in for Thomas, as the former LSU Tiger only shot 6-for-16 from the field. The performance was the second straight night that Thomas struggled, so expect him to bounce back in the next game against the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers.
Not having Lonnie Walker IV hurt the bench’s scoring, but thankfully, Royce O’Neale continued his offensive contributions from the Warriors game, scoring 18 points off the bench. Rookie Jalen Wilson was also impressive with a 10-point performance.
A duo of Kyrie and Luka is hard to stop
Coach Jacque Vaughn tried multiple defensive coverages against Kyrie and Luka, but they were not enough to stop the duo. Kyrie had 36 points, but Luka was not far behind with 35 points, alongside 18 rebounds and nine assists.
Brooklyn struggled to stop the two superstars, but Coach Vaughn noticed Nic Claxton could be a solid contributor when he gets the Doncic assignment. Clax did well in those defensive possessions, which can become a regular occurrence for JV.
The Nets have lost two straight games, and they will have to be at their best in the next game because the Cavaliers are in town, and the Cleveland squad is now ranked 2nd in the East.
