Nets' Michael Porter Jr. on Heat's Defense: 'They Were Really Glued to Me'

The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Miami Heat 106-85 on Thursday, quickly deflating whatever high the team might've felt in its 45 point blowout victory over a depleted Milwaukee Bucks team just days before.

Miami's top-three-ranked defense was too much for the Nets to handle. The Heat were blowing up many dribble handoff actions that usually prime Nic Claxton and Michael Porter Jr. for success and held the Nets to under 40% shooting from the field.

Though there were definitely several instances where Heat defenders definitely made excessive contact on Nets players, especially on close attempts near the rim or on drives to the rim, Miami also implemented defensive schemes that made life difficult for Brooklyn.

Porter finished the game with a solid 28 points, but his efficiency was slightly down, managing to shoot just 10-of-24 from the field, including 5-of-14 from 3-point range.

"I took a lot of tough ones for sure, Porter said. "There are shots that I could make but they were a lot of tough looks that I ended up shooting. I'm gonna miss some of those, but I felt like I should've probably made five or six shots that I didn't make tonight, and it would've probably been a different game. I definitely could've played better throughout the game offensively for sure, but you gotta give them credit. They were really glued to me coming off those screens. They played it well. Andrew Wiggins did a good job."

The Heat's defense at the level made it hard for the Nets to take it inside, and Miami's aggressive closeouts on shots from behind the arc prevented Brooklyn from getting hot from downtown.

However, Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez suggests that the Heat also may have benefited more from the whistle in this physical affair. Miami got to the free-throw line 19 times compared to just 11 times for Brooklyn.

“I thought for the most part, they called a good football game out there because it was not basketball,” Fernandez said. “It was physical on both ends, and I’m happy with that. I think that we drove enough times that we should have gotten the same amount of free-throws. But, it is what it is. I still think that the officials did a good job and let us play the same way. We just got penalized a little bit more than they did. At the end, we’re fouling a little more because we’re doubling.”