Player grades: Nic Claxton scores 23 as Nets beat Thunder 124-115
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Oklahoma City Thunder to Barclays Center on Friday and won 124-115.
For the Nets, Nic Claxton had 23 points and 13 rebounds while Spencer Dinwiddie had 23 points and four assists. Cam Thomas had 19 points off the bench and Mikal Bridges had 17 points.
For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 34 points and nine rebounds while Jalen Williams had 20 points and five assists. Chet Holmgren had 17 points and Josh Giddey had 13 points.
In the first half, it was a complete change of what happened in the last matchup between these teams as the Nets did the dominating instead of the Thunder. Cam Thomas finally made a field-goal for the first time in three games and he led the Nets in scoring with 16 points.
In the second half, Oklahoma City turned things around in a huge way as they started to shoot the ball better while playing much better defense on Brooklyn to get back in this one. The Thunder made things interesting in the fourth quarter as the Nets essentially collapsed, but had enough of a cushion to pull out the win.
Here are your Nets player grades following Friday’s win:
Spencer Dinwiddie: B+
Dinwiddie had one of his better games that he’s played in some time as he was efficient shooting the ball, especially from three-point range. It’s no secret that he has not shot the ball this entire season so when he does shoot the ball well, especially from behind the three-point line. There wasn’t much to complain about with Dinwiddie as he played well in all phases of the game and was even more active on the defensive end.
Mikal Bridges: C-
It feels like this has been said a lot lately, but Bridges had another tough game shooting the ball. He struggled mightily from three-point range as he couldn’t find his touch at all, but he was effective in his mid-range which is good considering that Bridges has struggled with his shot in general over the past three weeks or so. While he did a good job of rebounding the basketball and finding his open teammates, his scoring troubles and turnover issues are beginning to become concerning.
Cam Johnson: D
Like his “twin”, Johnson had one of his less impactful scoring performances as he was hitting his three-point shots, but couldn’t any of his other shots to go inside the arc. Johnson is an uncanny finisher when he gets a head of steam, but in this one, he wasn’t able to show off much of his touch at the rim against the length of the Thunder. Other than that, he was solid on the defensive end and gave more effort on that end.
Dorian Finney-Smith: B
Finney-Smith had a solid offensive game as he didn’t take as many shots as he did against the Rockets, but he was also more efficient with his three-point shots which is his main value on the offensive end. After a hot start to the season, Finney-Smith has not shot the three-ball well in the past three weeks or so which has played a part in the Nets’ overall offensive regression.
Nic Claxton: A
Claxton played like a man possessed in this one as he was aggressive scoring the ball from the opening tip. He was not to be denied whenever he got the ball at the free-throw line or lower and it was further proof that Claxton can do more than what he’s allowed to in the normal Brooklyn offense. He did a great job rebounding the basketball and he did a nice job of passing the ball within the Nets’ offensive scheme while playing well when he had to switch onto someone like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Cam Thomas: B-
This game was the tale of two halves for Thomas. He was cooking in the first half as he showed that when he says that he’s confident, he means it. However, he did twist his ankle towards the end of the first half and ever since then, he wasn’t sharp from the field despite looking like he wasn’t feeling any ill effects from his ankle twist. With that being said, it was just great to see Thomas snap his streak of missed shots and look more confident while doing so.
Day'Ron Sharpe: C-
Sharpe did not play well in this one despite having played closer to 15-20 minutes over the past few weeks. He was not particularly effective from the field, but he did a good job of being physical in the paint and that allowed him to get to the free-throw line. He did showcase his motor that has allowed him to make an improvement this season, but he did not earn more playing time thanks to how well Nic Claxton was playing.
Royce O'Neale: C+
O’Neale had a solid game in this one even though he didn’t do much scoring. This was one of those games where O’Neale made an impact outside of his three-point shooting and that was encouraging to see given that his minutes typically aren’t positive ones if he’s not making his three-point shots. He also had an issue of turning the ball over and it was arguably the worst turnover game that he’s had for Brooklyn.
Dennis Smith Jr.: A
Dennis Smith Jr. was incredible in this one after missing some time with his lower back soreness. While Smith did not shoot well from three, which he’s not necessarily expected to, he was efficient overall with his shooting overall, especially at the rim. Smith did virtually everything on the floor as he rebounded the ball almost as well as Nic Claxton, led the team in assists, and was his usual self on the defensive end of the floor, disrupting as much of OKC’s actions as he could.
Lonnie Walker IV: C
Walker returned after missing 17 games with his hamstring strain and while it wasn’t much to take note of, him getting back on the floor is the real point of this entry. Walker looked good on the floor and it looked like he wasn’t too rusty with his movement so his minutes should ramp up as time goes on.
