Nets Unable to Overcome Vassell, Spurs in Fifth-Straight Loss

Enterring Tuesday night's matchup, the Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs were trending in similar directions. Both have suffered highly-impactful injuries of late, signalling their respective recent struggles. In the second and last meeting between Brooklyn and San Antonio of the 2024-25 campaign, the Nets fell 127-113 on the road.

Cam Thomas led Brooklyn with 24 points and six assists in the falter.

From the opening tip, the Nets' latest reoccuring issues — those being poor defensive efforts and an often inability to score — popped up yet again. Even with the return of Cam Thomas and D'Angelo Russell, Brooklyn's offense came out flat and inefficient, highlighted by its 2-of-14 hitrate from beyond the arc in the inaugural stanza. The Spurs output was a stark contrast, defending home court early on behind Devin Vassell, who connected on all four of his opening attempts for a quick 10 points.

A quick glance at the first quarter statsheet would suggest a blowout was on the horizon, however the hosts led by just six. Even after surrendering another 30-point frame, five trips to the free-throw line helped prevent the lead from getting out of hand.

Trailing 31-25, Thomas finally shook off his post-injury rust. After scoring just four points on 1-of-4 shooting through seven minutes of action, the electrifying scorer took over in the second quarter. Spearheading a 16-4 run, Thomas added another nine points as he became more comfortable, eventually willing the Nets ahead by eight. Trendon Watford added six of his own, again displaying his versatility off the bench after missing Brooklyn's Saturday night loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Just as Jordi Fernandez's crew began to build momentum, a forgotten NBA journeyman squashed it all through his relentless effort. Bismack Biyombo, a 13-year veteran filling in for the absent Victor Wembanyama, dominated on both ends. Despite an uber talented roster, even sans Wembanyama, Biyombo made a strong case for the title of "best player on the floor" through his 16 minutes of play.

Biyombo tallied 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks of 5-of-6shooting, tying his season-high in the points column in the first half of his eighth game in San Antonio. Thanks to the unexpected dominance from the 32-year-old, Brooklyn saw its once-promising lead evaporate into a five-point deficit at halftime.

The 15 minutes that followed were owned entirely by Vassell. Building off his perfect first quarter and just as impactful second, he nailed all five of his triple attempts as the Spurs began pulling away. His heriocs generated a huge 23-7 San Antonio run, one the Nets' suddenly stagnant offense couldn't keep up with. Come the start of the fourth quarter, Brooklyn's hole ballooned to 19, pointing toward an early ending to the out-of-conference tilt.

Come the final buzzer, Vassell had notched 37 points on 14-of-19 shooting, completely overshadowing Thomas' return. While he did receive some help by way of Jalen Wilson's 13 points and Cam Johnson's 17 points, the Nets' defense simply wasn't up to standard in the 14-point loss.

With its winless two-game roadtrip in the rearview, Brooklyn looks to a Thursday night home matchup with the Golden State Warriors to end its five-game losing streak. Once pushing for the final Eastern Conference play-in spot, the Nets now have much work ahead of them if Fernandez is to clinch a playoff berth in his first year at the helm.

To access the final box score from the Nets' loss to the Spurs, click here.

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