Player grades: Mikal Bridges scores 23 as Kings beat Nets 101-96
The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Sacramento Kings at Barclays Center on Thursday to face off for the second and final time this season and lost 101-96. The Kings win the regular-season series 2-0.
For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 23 points and four rebounds while Spencer Dinwiddie had 18 points and seven assists. Nic Claxton had 14 points and 14 rebounds and Seth Curry had 14 points off the bench.
For the Kings, Domantas Sabonis had 24 points and 21 rebounds while De’Aaron Fox had 18 points and six rebounds. Malik Monk had 12 points off the bench and Harrison Barnes had 11 points.
In the first half, both teams played to a draw in the first quarter. Neither team shot well and it seemed like it was more just poor shooting than good defense. Sacramento pulled away from Brooklyn in the second quarter as the Kings ended the first half on a 13-0 run. The Nets could do nothing with Domantas Sabonis as he had 20 points and 12 rebounds in the first half.
In the second half, Brooklyn picked up its energy which allowed them to get back into the game thanks to the energy given by Yuta Watanabe and Edmond Sumner. Unfortunately, every time that the Nets got within striking distance, the Kings found a way to push the game back towards double-digits range. It seems like the end of the second quarter is what Brooklyn could not recover from.
Here are your Nets player grades:
Spencer Dinwiddie: B
Dinwiddie did not have his most efficient shooting night, but he was solid. Dinwiddie did his best to attack the rim like Jacque Vaughn wants him to, but he wasn’t getting the best whistle. Dinwiddie has been growing increasingly frustrated with refs lately and that could be why he has a tendency to falter at times. However, he did a great job of passing the ball as he consistently found his teammates for open shots using his drive-and-kick game.
Mikal Bridges: B-
Bridges did a good job of shooting the ball as he did his usual diet of mostly shots in the mid-range area with a mixing in of three-pointers. He did not shoot much in this one as he had been previously and it didn’t seem like the Kings were defending him differently in terms of double-teams or anything like that. Bridges did a good job of getting to the free-throw line in this one as he made it a mission to put pressure on the rim.
Cam Johnson: C
Johnson had a rough shooting game in this one. His three-point shot was solid, but he was unable to find a rhythm driving to the rim or shooting his mid-range shots. He did a good job of getting in on the glass seeing how much Sabonis was on the glass in the first half. Johnson is showing flashes of what he can do with his dribble in terms of creating, but he is clearly just scratching the surface at this point.
Dorian Finney-Smith: C+
Finney-Smith did not shoot the ball well int his contest. He did not shoot much at all, but his shot comes and goes unfortunately. He did a great job passing the ball especially attacking the closeout and keeping his head up as he drove to the rim. Finney-Smith’s defense was solid when he didn’t have to guard Sabonis for obvious reasons as Sabonis is a tough cover for any player.
Nic Claxton: B+
Claxton did a good job of scoring the ball in this one. It wasn’t the most efficient performance that we’ve seen from him, but he was effective finishing around the basket. Claxton’s post game was not working against Sabonis, but he was great catching the ball off of the short roll and making decisions from there. He was all over the glass as he did a great job of limiting Sabonis with his offensive rebounds in the second half.
Royce O'Neale: C
O’Neale did not shoot the three-ball well in this one. Despite his offensive struggles, he did a good job of getting on the glass as he had to play as a big tonight with Claxton’s foul trouble. O’Neale did a good job of passing the ball as he had a few new passes in this one after he drove by his man.
Cam Thomas: F
Thomas could not get anything from the field in his 6 minutes of action in the first half. He did a good job rebounding, but other than that, Thomas did not provide much value. Recently, Thomas has had inconsistent playing time and you can tell that he is frustrated with not playing much as his body language did not look good.
Seth Curry: B+
Curry did a good job shooting the ball as he was hitting his patented mid-range shots as well as his threes. Curry was able to use his dribble to create shots for himself and others and he looked one of the few players that had fresh legs in this contest.
Joe Harris: F
Harris only played 7 minutes in this game despite the fact that Brooklyn could have used some shooting in this game. In what turned into a defensive game, it was the kind of style that Harris either could not be a part of or Jacque Vaughn just wanted to go in a different direction.
Yuta Watanabe: B-
While Watanabe did not do much in the box score, he played an important role in this one. When Watanabe came into the game, he provided the energy that the sluggish Nets needed in the third quarter. Watanabe is another one of those players that has had inconsistent playing time, but it was good to see him get some playing time and make the most of it.
Edmond Sumner: B
Sumner had a similar night to Watanabe in that he didn’t do much in the box score, but he was effective with his intangibles. He provided some of the energy that Brooklyn needed to make the push to get back into the game.
