Two nights after an overtime loss to the Utah Jazz most of the NBA community would prefer to forget, the Nets stormed into Moda Center and scored 40 points in a first quarter where they drilled eight 3-pointers — tied for the most they made in any quarter this season.
Jordi Fernandez’s team entered Tuesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers as losers of five straight games, continuing to improve their lottery odds with each loss. Brooklyn had a 9% chance at earning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft entering the night and Portland was right behind them at 7.5%.
With tanking on the minds of both franchises, a random win in January against an Eastern Conference bottom-dweller wouldn’t do either team much good in the long run. But it seems like whenever the tank talk grows loudest, the Nets pop out and show the league what kind of team it could be.
Brooklyn won 132-114 and improved to 14-26 in a game where it never trailed. For one night it looked like a contender.
After building a 10-point lead through the first 12 minutes of action, the Nets opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to go up 46-30. The Trail Blazers responded with a 14-3 run to cut the deficit to five, but Brooklyn shot 54.2% through two quarters, made 11 treys, and built a 66-61 lead at halftime.
The Nets had 20 assists to five turnovers in the first half and somehow survived a 25-point onslaught from Scoot Henderson, who missed only once in his first 10 tries. The former No. 3 overall pick finished with a career-high 39 points, but it hardly mattered.
After hitting Brooklyn’s first and third 3-pointers of the night, Noah Clowney made No. 12 and 13 to give his team a seven-point edge with 8:42 left in the third quarter. The Nets had 98 points entering the final frame, one bucket shy of tying their highest point total through three quarters this season.
It was just that kind of night for the Nets. Every player scored. Their reserves outscored Portland’s 50-18, fueled by Jalen Wilson’s 14 points. They had a season-high 36 assists on 49 field goals. Their total points, field goal percentage (54.4%), and margin of victory (18) were also season highs.
When the Nets are healthy — or close to it — they can be a scary team. Nic Claxton missed Tuesday’s game because of right hamstring tightness, but Cam Johnson and D’Angelo Russell returned from extended absences. Johnson casually scored a team-high 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting while Russell added 13 points, nine assists and four steals in 21 minutes off the bench.
“I’m proud of the guys,” Johnson said. “We cherish these wins, and we’re going to keep it going.”
With Ben Simmons running the show in transition, the Nets enjoyed a 29-14 edge in fast break points, setting a new season high. He tallied a game-high 11 assists in 26 minutes, as he continues his strongest stretch of play in recent years.
Brooklyn also dominated the paint 56-40 for those keeping track at home.
Nets fans are celebrating Tuesday’s win, somewhere in the multiverse. In the reality we live in, many are upset after watching their team swap places with Portland in the lottery standings.
Perhaps Brooklyn’s dominant performance against the Trail Blazers will bite them later down the road, but the players in that locker room needed a night like this. It’s going to be a long season. No matter what the front office wants, they deserve to taste success, too.
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