Nets do unthinkable, blow 18-point lead to Clippers

 

The Brooklyn Nets were in full control of the Los Angeles Clippers until they weren't. 

After building a 18-point lead with seconds left in the third quarter, Brooklyn watched that advantage not not only evaporate, but eventually turned it into an 11-point Los Angeles win. 

Mikal Bridges led the way with 26, Cam Thomas had 20, while James Harden paced the Clippers with 24 and 10, while Kawhi Leonard added 21.

Ty Lue coached circles around Jacque Vaughn, who allowed the Clippers to stage a 22-0 run to end the game.

It's inexplicable some of the lineup changes that Vaughn made as well as his lack of commanding the huddle and coordinating a semblance of an organized offense.

The Nets have now squandered three winnable games over the last week-plus by losing to Portland, Miami and now the Los Angeles Clippers with a Thunder win preceding that stretch and Laker win on Friday night.

Had the Nets made a few lineup adjustments and different play calls, but they may be riding a six game win streak instead of 4-14 record over the last 18 games. 

Aside from Ben Simmons, Brooklyn is relatively healthy and injuries are no longer an excuse but poor coaching decisions are preventing an underdog Nets squad from staying out of the loss column and in the playoff race. 

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Nets make franchise history with stunning win over Lakers

The Nets looked to be on their way to a 15th loss in 18 games early on at Crypto.com Arena, but they flipped the script on the Hollywood Lakers and turned a slow start into an explosive second half.

Brooklyn outscored Los Angeles 38-22 in the third quarter with Cam Thomas pacing the Nets with 33, Spencer Dinwiddie coming alive for 19 and Nic Claxton notching an impressive 22 point, 14 rebound double-double in the contest.

LeBron James had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Anthony Davis had 26 and 12 boards, while DeAngelo Russell poured in 20.

For Brooklyn, Lonnie Walker IV and Dennis Smith Jr. had spirited efforts off the bench with 15 and 11, respectively, to go along with a great deal of hustle plays.

The Nets earned their biggest win in franchise history at the Lakers home court with a 130-112 triumph.

Brooklyn will be back in the same arena on Sunday to take on the Clippers as it looks for a Los Angeles sweep. 

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Nets shockingly lead all NBA teams in this statistical category

 

When you think of the Brooklyn Nets, you probably think of a gritty team full of selfless players who are overachieving through 20 games this year. 

Led by Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas, the Nets have a fun, up-tempo style of play that makes heads turn and lights up the scoreboard. An overlooked factor for this Nets squad is the fact that it astonishingly leads the entire league in rebounds per game at 48. Just last season, the Nets ranked second-last at 40.5 per contest.

It's a remarkable turnaround to go from virtually the worst rebounding team in the league to the best, but that's exactly what the Nets have done. 

Led by big men Day'Ron Sharpe, Nic Claxton and veterans Dennis Smith Jr., Spencer Dinwiddie and Cam Johnson, Brooklyn is attacking the boards with ferocity. 

Much of it has to do with an organizational philosophical change from a 1 through 5 switching defensive scheme last year, to a drop defense with hints of matchup zone sprinkled in. 

The personnel has changed over drastically as well with divas Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving playing elsewhere, and the 2023-24 version has adopted a hard hat mentality to gang rebound and do the dirty work. 

Brooklyn is one-game out of the No. 5 seed, held by the Knicks, as they're crowded among other Eastern Conference squads looking to reach the top six. 

As long as the Nets are able to shake the early injury bug that has plague virtually every player on the roster outside of Nic Claxton, there's no reason to believe the Nets rebounding prowess will change for the worse anytime soon. 

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