Long Island Nets beat Spurs with big second half, close 3-1 trip

The Long Island Nets picked up their 3rd straight win and closed a 3-1 Western road trip Friday night with a 131-116 win over the Austin Spurs.

At least the Brooklyn Nets‘ affiliate in the G League can beat the Spurs on the road. The Long Island Nets, spurred by the return of several players from their parent club, pulled away from the Austin Spurs in the second half Friday in a 131-116 win at H-E-B Center in suburban Cedar Park, Texas.

Jordan McLaughlin scored 17 of his game-high 34 points for Long island (21-10) in the third quarter, as the Nets erased a two-point halftime deficit with a 41-point outburst. McLaughlin’s 3-pointer with 2:47 remaining gave Long Island its largest lead at 127-108.

However, rookie Dzanan Musa may have taken a setback in his recovery from injury as he left the game with 6:33 remaining in the third quarter. John Holland missed a 3-pointer and Josh Huestis got the rebound. Musa left the game immediately afterward and did not return.

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There were no reports as to the specifics or severity of the injury.

The 131 points matched the second-highest total in franchise history for the Nets, two nights after setting a new team record with 135 points in a win over the Texas Legends.

Long Island shot 50 percent (50-for-100) and also drained 17-of-34 (50 percent) from 3-point range, their best effort of the season. The Nets outrebounded Austin 52-40

Two-way player Theo Pinson added 33 points for the Nets, dropping 7-of-14 from 3-point range in his first G-League game since Jan. 21.

Alan Williams, Brooklyn’s other two-way player, went for 17 points, 19 rebounds and two blocks, while Mitch Creek — on a 10-day contract with Brooklyn and on assignment to Long Island — finished with 12 points and seven assists.

Rookie Dzanan Musa, also on assignment from Brooklyn, played just 17 minutes and finished with seven points on 3-of-9 shooting. It was just his second game back from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for nearly seven weeks.

The win enabled Long Island to maintain its one-game lead over the Lakeland Magic (20-11) in the G-League’s Eastern Conference, while Raptors 905 fell two games off the pace after losing on the road to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, 117-112. Lakeland picked up a road win over the Northern Arizona Suns, 108-99.

Shannon Scott added 11 points for the Nets in the win at Austin.

Travis Trice led Austin with 25 points and three assists, while San Antonio Spurs assignee Lonnie Walker added 21 points and three steals and John Holland dropped in 20 points. San Antonio two-way player Drew Eubanks posted 10 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.

Chimezie Metu, also on assignment from the parent Spurs, scored 14 points and blocked two shots and Jordan Green had two blocks, as well.

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Long Island returns home, sort of, on Monday to face Fort Wayne (16-14) in a late-morning game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Tip is set for 11 a.m. Eastern and the game can be seen on Facebook Live.