How would the Nets respond after a lackluster defensive effort in Wednesday’s season opener at Charlotte? Early on, it was hardly the start head coach Jordi Fernández had hoped for. Down the stretch, it was too little and too late, even as Brooklyn nearly pulled off an improbable 25-point comeback.
Despite an inspired fourth-quarter rally, the Nets came up just short, falling to 0-2 on the young season after a 131-124 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday at Barclays Center. Rookies Drake Powell and Danny Wolf sat out as they continue to recover from ankle injuries, but depth wasn’t the issue. For the second straight outing, early lapses in effort and defensive communication put Brooklyn in a hole it couldn’t quite climb out of.
The Cavaliers opened the night hitting six of their first seven shots, while the Nets stumbled out of the gate at 3-for-8. When Cam Thomas coughed up a turnover that led to a Sam Merrill 3-pointer, Fernández had seen enough calling his first timeout less than five minutes in with his team already trailing 16-7.
Outside of Michael Porter Jr., there wasn’t much offense to speak of in the opening quarter. Brooklyn looked disjointed and careless with the ball, committing nine turnovers in the period while allowing Cleveland to shoot 59.1% from the field. Meanwhile, the Nets managed just 40.9 percent on one more shot attempt.
And the Cavaliers kept their foot on the gas to start the second. They buried four three-pointers in the opening minutes, then Donovan Mitchell drew contact on his fourth long-range try and sank all three free throws. By the 7:56 mark of the first half, Cleveland’s lead had ballooned to 17 — another sizeable hole for a Nets team still searching for defensive cohesion.
Up just 63-51 at halftime, Cleveland opened the third quarter with three straight 3-pointers to stretch its lead to 21, the largest of the night at that point. By the 8:14 mark, the margin had grown to 25.
Brooklyn pushed back in the third, fueled by Thomas’ scoring burst and fewer mistakes, but the story didn’t change. Cleveland caught fire, shooting 73.9% and sinking nine more 3s to take a 108-86 lead into the final frame.
To Fernández’s credit, he didn’t let his team fold. The Nets, all but counted out, opened the fourth quarter on a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to 13 with 9:32 left, showing the kind of shot-making and defensive intensity that should have been there from the start. Porter then buried his fifth three-pointer of the night to make it an 11-point game with 8:03 remaining, and moments later, Ziaire Williams hit his fifth from deep to cut the margin to 10 with 7:15 to play.
Brooklyn kept chipping away as Cleveland started to crack, getting within one point with 3:28 left before falling just short of a remarkable comeback. Ultimately, Cleveland’s veteran poise carried it across the finish line.
The Nets won the fourth quarter 38-23, shooting 65.2% from the field and hitting seven threes while holding Cleveland to 26.3% and forcing four turnovers. Had they played with that level of intensity from the start, the outcome might have been different.
Thomas and Porter scored 33 and 31 points, respectively, showing flashes of how potent they can be as a scoring duo, while Williams added 25 points and hit six threes. Rookie Egor Demin had a quiet night through three quarters but came alive in the fourth, going 3-for-4 from deep to keep Brooklyn within striking distance.
Brooklyn’s road won’t get any easier from here. A back-to-back weekend set against the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets will quickly reveal whether the growth shown Friday was real. While this loss will sting given how much they left on the table, the Nets finally showed signs of understanding what it takes to defend and compete for a full 48 minutes.
