Inside The Nets

Three Takeaways From the Nets' Blowout Win Over Pelicans

The Brooklyn Nets pulled off their second home win of the season, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 119-101 on Saturday.
Sameer Kumar|
Dec 6, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) goes up for a dunk during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Dec 6, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) goes up for a dunk during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets pulled off their second home win of the season, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 119-101 on Saturday.

The Nets have won three of their last four games, as Michael Porter Jr. has scored at least 30 points in each of the wins. Porter Jr. did not play in the Nets' one loss, which came at the hands of the Utah Jazz on Thursday.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Nets win over the Pelicans.

1. MPJ Was on Fire

Porter Jr. was moving off the ball well, navigating screens, fighting through contact, and converting looks with seconds left on the shot clock.

"I think he makes his teammates' lives better," Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said. "He doesn't play in a selfish way. I think that the shots he creates, one he's able to make every shot possible. But when he spaces the floor properly, and when he cuts with pace, and when he's constantly moving, and then he rebounds the ball... that's just very good for everybody else."

One particular shot that stood out to me was when Terance Mann was inbounding the ball with four seconds left on the shot clock in the last three minutes of the second quarter and how Porter Jr. curled off the offball screen and calmly moved into his shooting motion to get the shot off over Derik Queen's aggressive closeout.

The Nets still might not win a lot of games this season, but they're not going to lose as many games as they were once expected to as long as MPJ continues to score at this rate,

2. Nic Claxton Picks Up Second Career Triple-Double

Nic Claxton's offensive game has improved tremendously this season.

He's making quick decisions on drives to the rim, making smart cuts to the rim, and has considerably improved his free-throw shooting.

The gravity he attracts inside also causes interior defenders to collapse, which opens up easy passing opportunities for him to rack up a ton of assists.

Many of Claxton's assists have also come off of dribble handoffs, as his big frame allows him to screen off defenders who are contesting 3-point shot attempts.

3. MPJ and Clax's Chemistry is Growing

Both Porter Jr. and Claxton have been great at finding each other on the floor, especially on DHO actions.

Perhaps their budding chemistry could help them stick around in Brooklyn past the trade deadline.

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Sameer Kumar
SAMEER KUMAR

Sameer Kumar covers the NBA and specializes in providing analysis on player performance and telling stories beyond the numbers. He graduated from SUNY Oswego with a B.A. in Broadcasting & Mass Communication.

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