Every team in professional sports has their off night or, in this case, day. For the Brooklyn Nets, it just wasn’t meant to be against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon.
Not only were the Nets without Kevin Durant, who is set to return this coming week, James Harden was also out with a day-to-day hamstring injury, and Nicolas Claxton got limited minutes.
The Nets started pretty well given the circumstances but quickly got tired and lost it. They outscored the Bulls 28-25 in the first half but went on a run at the beginning. The Bulls dominated towards the end of the half, and that continued into the next twelve-minute set. Brooklyn was badly outscored 32-18 in the second quarter, trailing 57-46 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Chicago posted another 32 points compared to Brooklyn’s 26. They showed signs of a potential comeback in the fourth quarter but just failed to stop the Bulls when they needed to. They lost the game 115-107.
The Nets rolled with LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin together on Sunday, which didn’t work (yet). Even Nets coach Steve Nash admitted to not being overly impressed with the combo he started the game with.
Alongside Jeff Green, Kyrie Irving carried Brooklyn, recording 24 points, 2 rebounds, and 15 assists. Joe Harris put up 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Griffin had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Despite a few hiccups, Aldridge played solid North-South ball, picking up 11 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist. Bruce Brown had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist. Green posted 21 points, a rebound, and 2 assists. Landry Shamet had 13 points, 2 rebounds, and a single assist. Tyler Johnson limped off the court after a non-contact lower-body injury. More details are to come.
While the Nets dropped their first game of the back-to-back, they have a chance to beat their crosstown rival, the New York Knicks, at home on Monday. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM Eastern Time.
