Biggest takeaways from the Nets' tough loss to the Miami Heat

Entering this game against the Miami Heat, the Brooklyn Nets looked refreshed from the defeat to the Cavaliers in Paris. Coach Jacque Vaughn’s squad played solid defense but lost 95-96 in overtime.

Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro spearheaded Miami’s offense, scoring 31 and 29 points, respectively. Mikal Bridges led the Nets with 26 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, while Cameron Thomas chipped in with 23 points off the bench.

Final: Heat 96 - Nets 95
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 16, 2024

The Nets’ abysmal three-point shooting led to the loss

Brooklyn had 55 three-point attempts but only made 12 long-range shots. It was a disappointing performance by a squad that was typically one of the best shooting teams in the league earlier in the season. After this game, Brooklyn is ranked 16th in three-point percentage, shooting 36.6%.

The Nets were 11-of-52 from three (21.2%) in regulation.
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 16, 2024

Coach Vaughn was displeased with the shooting struggles but saw promising signs, even though the Nets were not hitting shots.

“I would believe that for the majority of those 55, we tried to create good shots and good looks for each other; the ball just didn’t go in,” Vaughn said after the loss.

The defense was decent for most of the game

Coach Vaughn and his staff opted to focus on switching defenses. The Heat struggled to make shots because Brooklyn’s players always had a hand up on every shot attempt.

Absurd ground coverage and block from Nic Claxton.

Holy moly. pic.twitter.com/uh18i1wZVq
— Rit Holtzman (@BenRitholtzNBA) January 16, 2024

However, Miami built momentum in the third quarter, which led to a back-and-forth between both teams and overtime. Bam Adebayo hit a couple of shots in the fourth quarter to help the Heat win and finish with a whopping 11 points and 20 rebounds.

Vaughn’s puzzling late-game decisions

This game had two crucial moments involving Coach Vaughn and his usage of timeouts. The first was JV refusing to challenge a foul, prompting Butler to hit both free throws. Brooklyn had the ball with 11 seconds left in overtime, but a timeout did not happen, forcing Mikal to take a tough shot.

“11 seconds on the clock, we have shooters on the floor, great opportunity for them not to sub… We got a shooter spotted up in the left corner, Royce is pealing at the top, and Cam Thomas is over in the right corner. I don’t think I’d be able to draw anything up better than that,” Vaughn said when asked about the timeout debacle.

This would make sense if he actually used his timeout after. But he didn't. Such a strange decision. https://t.co/2CdlqDNxAB
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) January 16, 2024

Now, Brooklyn moves on to a three-game West Coast road trip. It is a chance for the Nets to regain their form, but it will be a tough slate of games.

The Nets’ abysmal three-point shooting led to the loss

The defense was decent for most of the game

Vaughn’s puzzling late-game decisions

Brooklyn suffers a brutal 95-96 loss to the Miami Heat