Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from litmus-test loss to Pacers

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B. 28 MIN, 10 PTS, 3-for-6 (3-for-4), 1-for-4 FT, 6 REB (1 ORB), 4 AST, 4 PF, 2 STL, 1 TO, 1 BLK, -4. PF. Brooklyn Nets. JARED DUDLEY

It would be easy to ding Jared Dudley hard for his two missed free throws and his moving screen violation that wiped out a go-ahead 3-pointer late in the game.

But that would be unfair to the very active game he played to get the game into the closing minutes with a chance to win.

Dudley canned 3-of-4 from 3-point range — he entered Friday’s game shooting just 30.7 percent from deep — and was active all over the place with six rebounds, four assists, a couple of steals and a block in the low post on the much bigger Thaddeus Young.

He is settling nicely into a reserve role after being miscast as a starter early in the season and he made some key contributions throughout Brooklyn’s seven-game winning streak.

PG. Brooklyn Nets. D'ANGELO RUSSELL. C-. 26 MIN, 3 PTS, 1-for-8 (1-for-4), 3 REB (1 ORB), 9 AST, 1 PF, 4 TO, -11

D’Angelo Russell‘s facilitating saved his grade, as his nine assists constituted most of his positive effect on Friday’s game.

He did not shoot well, with a season-low three points, and he turned the ball over four times.

Russell was also a team-worst minus-11 for those who put any emphasis on that particular statistic.

I’ve been critical of Russell’s lack of consistency, but Friday night was a new low for DLo.

Which also means the Phoenix Suns could be in trouble.