Nets Burned by Heat, Blow Double-Digit Lead

The Brooklyn Nets were narrowly beaten by the Miami Heat,109-106 on Brooklyn’s inaugural “Pride Night.” Brook Lopez was the high scorer for Nets, while Dion Waiters finished with 24 points for the Heat.

The Nets were fairly healthy heading into this contest, with the only two outliers being Jeremy Lin, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury, and Joe Harris. Miami, on the other hand, had a plethora of injuries on this night. Justise Winslow, Josh McRoberts, Josh Richardson, and Tyler Johnson all did not participate in this contest due to a variety of injuries.

Miami was riding a four-game winning streak as they trotted into Brooklyn. This was highlighted by a signature win over the Warriors, in which Dion Waiters hit a game winner. Brooklyn was looking to snap an eight-game losing streak at Barclays Center.

The Nets’ offense ran through the man in the middle early on as he scored the team’s first 16 points. The Heat’s defense appeared to be caught off guard by Brook Lopez‘s newfound ability to shoot the long ball. Lopez had three threes in the first five minutes alone.

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The big man outscored his teammates 16-1 in the first half of the first quarter. Despite this pure dominance, Miami found themselves on point from behind the arc as well with former Net Wayne Ellington knocking down a couple in the first.

New NBA.com Rookie Ladder inductee, Caris LeVert came into the game and provided an instant spark offensively. He notched four points quickly to keep his team afloat.

Brooklyn began to come back down to Earth offensively, and Miami took a controlling lead in the waning moments of the first. Fast-paced play and three-point shooting quickly became the themes of the game, leading to a high-scoring, 34-30 Miami lead after 12 minutes of play.

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Ellington continued to wreck havoc on Brooklyn’s defense by immediately knocking down a three in the second, while staying perfect from the field. The Heat then took their first double-digit lead of the night as a result of a slow demise of the Nets’ defense. At the midway point of the second, Miami was shooting an astounding 60 percent from the field and 57 percent from three-point land.

Almost immediately after Lopez entered the game again for the Nets, their offense appeared to flow smoothly. They went on a 13-2 run to retake the lead in a very spontaneous three minutes of offensive dominance.

A high-flying jam from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson brought the Nets’ lead to five as halftime approached. Lopez truly channeled his inner Stephen Curry in this contest, as he knocked down six threes in the first half alone. Six makes from behind the arc broke Lopez’s career-high for threes made in a game, let alone in a single half. Furthermore, this total in the first half is more than Lopez made in the first seven years of career combined.

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After a buzzer-beating three from Sean Kilpatrick, Brooklyn led 66-55 heading into the locker room.

Brooklyn came into the third quarter guns blazing. and they quickly increased their lead to 17 poinra. After yet another Lopez three, the Nets found themselves in the driver’s seat with a commanding 18-point lead. Over the course of this run, Atkinson’s squad maintained 50 percent shooting from the field along with 41 percent shooting from behind the arc.

However, it began to slow down for the Nets as the second half continued. Miami heated up from behind the three-point arc and was able to cut the Nets’ lead to 10.

In Quincy Acy’s first action of the night, he once again proved why he should be signed for the rest of the season. The energy he had cheering for teammates on the bench instantly translated onto the court, as he was quick to knock down a three, among other impressive plays.

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Brooklyn logged 89 points through three quarters to take an 18-point lead over Miami.

The Nets’ magic ran out in the fourth quarter. The Heat opened up the fourth with an 8-0 run, headed by Waiters. A two-handed jam from another former Net, Willie Reed, cut the deficit to single digits. The Heat were still shooting an impressive 45 percent from the field at this point in the game. After a long three from Waiters, Brooklyn’s lead was cut down to only eight points after once standing at 18.

Lopez suddenly became stone cold from the field, providing Miami with ample opportunities to cut into the Nets’ lead. Coach Atkinson was forced to call a timeout to stop the bleeding after the Heat managed to make it a one possession game with three minutes left to play.

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Ellington capped off a 10-0 run for the Heat to tie the score at 99-99. The turnovers began to mount as the Nets’ chances at victory slowly slipped away. Another three, this time by Okaro White, gave Miami their first lead since the second quarter.

Waiters hit a clutch three for the second straight game to put the nail in the coffin. The Heat outscored the Nets 38-17 in the fourth quarter to hand Brooklyn their ninth straight home loss, 109-106.

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Brooklyn will travel to Cleveland for their third matchup with the defending champs on Friday night.