Nothin' But Nets
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Long Island Nets go ice cold in loss to Red Claws

By Phil Watson

Long Island Nets Brooklyn Nets Dzanan Musa. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Saffran/NBAE via Getty Images)
Long Island Nets Brooklyn Nets Dzanan Musa. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Saffran/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Long Island Nets nearly matched their worst shooting game of the season Sunday, dropping a 110-101 NBA G League decision to the Maine Red Claws.

For the Long Island Nets, it’s a case of what happens in Uniondale will stay in Uniondale.

In their final game before heading to Las Vegas for next week’s NBA G League Showcase, the Nets nearly matched a season-low by shooting just 32.7 percent in a 110-101 loss to the Maine Red Claws at Nassau Coliseum.

The Nets trailed by as much as 15 points en route to the loss, hitting 35-of-107 from the floor and just 13-of-43 (30.2 percent) from 3-point range.

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Long Island’s only worse shooting performance came early in the season, when they were 33-for-101 (32.67 percent) in a loss on the road to the Westchester Knicks. Their percentage on Sunday was 32.71 percent.

Maine (5-11) led 33-26 after one quarter and 65-53 at the half.

The Nets (11-5) put together a run to open the second half, however, scoring the first seven points of the third quarter and taking a 72-71 lead with 7:04 remaining in the period when Alan Williams knocked down a turnaround hook off glass.

But the Red Claws answered with a 14-2 run to push their lead back to 11 with 2:57 left in the third and Maine pushed their lead out to 96-81 early in the fourth quarter.

Long Island got no closer than six the rest of the way.

Rookie Jordan McLaughlin led the Nets, matching his career-high with 29 points. Theo Pinson, on a two-way deal with the parent Brooklyn Nets, added 23 points and eight assists and Long Island’s other two-way player, Williams, finished with 19 points and a franchise-record 27 rebounds.

Williams’ rebounding total matched the fourth-highest in NBA G League history, two off the single-game record set by Jack Cooley of the Idaho Stampede against the Los Angeles D-Fenders on March 13, 2015.

Brooklyn rookie Dzanan Musa, the team’s first-round pick last June, finished with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting, hitting 2-of-6 from deep, and had four rebounds with two assists.

P.J. Dozier notched a triple-double for Maine, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while also blocking two shots.

By comparison, the Red Claws were red-hot, shooting 43.3 percent (42-for-97), but they were 17-for-42 from 3-point range (40.5 percent). Sheldon Jeter added 22 points in just 18 minutes for Maine, knocking down 6-of-8 from deep.

John Bohannon had 12 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks, while Nick King pulled down 12 rebounds.

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Long Island is set to play two games in the Showcase, to be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. They will face the Rio Grande Valley Vipers at 3 p.m. Eastern Thursday (airing on ESPNU) and take on the Oklahoma City Blue at 8 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.