The Nets had no answers in Wednesday’s 59-point loss to the Clippers, but Friday’s matchup against the Lakers played out much differently with a healthy D’Angelo Russell in the fold, even with Cam Johnson still sidelined because of a right ankle sprain.
A game that featured 11 ties and 22 lead changes came down to the final minutes of regulation.
Russell, facing the Lakers for the first time since last month’s trade, was sharp off the bench and kept the Nets in striking distance throughout the night. Two-way forward Tosan Evbuomwan, who finished with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting with six rebounds, was playing out of his mind. And a Noah Clowney 3-pointer pulled Brooklyn within one point with 37.2 seconds left.
Austin Reaves’ short-armed a 7-footer on the Lakers’ ensuing possession. With 20.9 seconds left, the Nets had a chance to steal one on the road, two nights after getting embarrassed in Inglewood.
Russell had the hot hand, this was a revenge game for him, so of course he had to take the final shot. He waived off his teammates, sized up Max Christie, and went to work. He took one hard dribble left, snatched the ball back between his legs going right, then pulled up for a lefty trey with the game clock winding down.
But it wasn’t to be. Russell misfired. LeBron James secured the game-winning rebound and ran the clock out. The Nets fell 102-101 at Crypto.com Arena despite an inspired effort from Russell, Evbuomwan, and really the team as a whole.
“I’m going to let these guys with experience take the shot,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said of Russell’s go-ahead attempt. “That was a shot that I’ve seen him make a lot of times.”
Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 38 points in 37 minutes. James added 29 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Anthony Davis was inactive Friday night.
The Nets officially re-acquired Russell, 28, in a trade with the Lakers on Dec. 29, a deal that sent Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to Los Angeles and Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to Brooklyn. Finney-Smith missed Friday’s game for personal reasons. He and his fiancée announced the birth of their son earlier this week. Milton played eight minutes and recorded an assist.
Russell, playing in his fifth game since returning to Brooklyn, led the team with 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists, helping the team to a 49-12 advantage in bench points. After Russell missed what would have been the go-ahead jumper, Fernandez thought Clowney got fouled while crashing the glass.
Fernandez had a point, but ultimately no call was made.
“We’ll wait to see what the final two-minute report says,” Fernandez said.
The Nets fell to 0-9 without Johnson in the lineup this season. He’s appeared in just one of Brooklyn’s past eight games — Tuesday’s 132-114 win over Portland — where he finished with 24 points.
Cam Thomas missed his eighth straight game Friday night. He’s expected to be re-evaluated when the Nets return home sometime next week. Brooklyn fell to 14-28 with the loss and will finish up its six-game road trip on Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.
