NETS Take Down Blazers 119-115 in OT, Despite Lillard's 60
In a close battle from start to finish the Brooklyn Nets pulled out an impressive 119-115 victory against the struggling Portland Trailblazers on Friday Night.
It was just one of those nights for Brooklyn’s ball club where they were clicking on all cylinders. They scored the ball at high rate; they were relentless on the boards; they protected the ball and were efficient. You can’t ask for better than that.
Believe it or not, the Nets’ defense held their own too, despite Damian Lillard erupting for 60 points at the Moda Center. He went 19-33 from the field. However, he was one of only three players to score in double digits for Portland. Even Lillard’s backcourt running mate, CJ McCollum, was essentially taken out of the game, scoring only eight points and making four of his 19 shots.
“We did a good job on McCollum, I thought that was good,” said HC Kenny Atkinson. “Did a good job on the other guys you know, the Rodney Hoods of the world.”
So yes, Lillard’s 60 was impressive but the rest of the team shot 21-66 from the field.
On the offensive side of the ball, you may be surprised to know that nearly three weeks in to the season, the Nets actually lead the league in PPG with 120.8. Friday was no different as they put up 119 and were only one of four teams to score 115+ last night.
The Nets also were moving the ball beautifully last night dishing out 18 assists and never settling for a good shot over a great one. In addition to moving the ball well, they seemed to have it on a string because they only committed nine turnovers, which is half of their season average.
This played a role in their field goal percentage not being too shabby as well as their three-point field goal percentage being 43% (up three from their league-leading 40.5%).
Lastly, the Nets’ effort on the boards didn’t go unnoticed as they lived up to their elite rebounding ability, grabbing 65, with 16 of those being offensive boards.
To round out this wire-to-wire impressive performance by the Nets, the scoring was widespread. Four players scored in double digits and the leading scorer was Spencer Dinwiddie with 34 points off of the bench.
“A lot of guys stepped up,” said Atkinson. “I think it was a great team win…just overall we made some big shots.”
