Brooklyn Nets: Player grades from relatively stress-free win over Pelicans
By Phil Watson
A-. 29 MIN, 21 PTS, 9-for-16 (3-for-4), 2 REB (2 ORB), 1 AST, 3 PF, 1 STL, 2 TO, -10. SG/SF. Brooklyn Nets. JOE HARRIS
Joe Harris showed as much aggressiveness taking the ball off the dribble as he has all season and his deft touch around the cup paid off, particularly on three big buckets as the Brooklyn Nets were fending off a late run from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Harris is so good as using his body and the rim to shield his shots from would-be defenders once he gets inside, with terrific body control and creativity on his releases.
And when he got his looks from deep, he striped them, hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
His putback off a missed 3 by D’Angelo Russell helped the Nets push the lead back to double digits at 117-106 with 3:30 to go, giving them breathing room to hold off the Pelicans’ final push.
29 MIN, 19 PTS, 6-for-12 (3-for-6), 4-for-7 FT, 6 REB (1 ORB), 3 AST, 3 PF, +4. SF/PF. Brooklyn Nets. DEMARRE CARROLL. B+
DeMarre Carroll is in the flow, scoring in double-figures in each of his last four games off the bench, the longest such streak Carroll has had this season.
Carroll is averaging 16.0 points over his last four games on 50 percent shooting overall while knocking down 42.9 percent from 3-point range. He’s also picking up 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists a night and led the Brooklyn bench battalion with 19 points on Wednesday.
He played a little 3 and a lot of 4 in some very small lineups and held up defensively for the most part when asked to guard the mammoth Julius Randle.