Nets get ‘Blazed’ before Paris trip

Vaughn disappointed following OT loss to Portland

January 9, 2024 John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Despite pouring in 42 points, Mikal Bridges sulked off the hardwood Sunday in Brooklyn following the Nets' loss to the Trail Blazers. AP Photo by Noah K. Murray

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Perhaps a bit of French cuisine will clean the Nets’ palates after a hard-to-swallow overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Downtown’s Barclays Center on Sunday.

Then again, Brooklyn would be served best by finding a path to victory during its historic trip to Paris on Thursday to “host” the Cleveland Cavaliers at Accor Arena.

“For us not to win this basketball game (is) very disappointing,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said following the Nets’ 134-127 defeat to the Blazers in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732 on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.

Brooklyn (16-21) was hoping to build some momentum off Friday’s rousing 124-115 triumph over Oklahoma City in the opener of this four-game homestand.

The Nets, who will play host to the Cavaliers on Thursday, had just snapped a season high-tying five-game losing streak and were poised to make it two wins in a row when Mikal Bridges drained a jumper with 1.5 ticks left on the clock Sunday to force the extra session.

However, Portland’s Malcolm Brogdon put up eight of his 18 points following regulation, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Anfernee Simons added six of his 38 points in OT as the struggling Blazers (10-25) walked out of Barclays with their first victory in five contests.

“We definitely needed it,” Brogdon told the Associated Press. “To pull a win like this out, this is a team competing for a playoff spot, it’s a really good win for us.

“I think we’re a young team, we’re inexperienced to put a full 48 minutes together. Tonight we were able to put 53 minutes together, so I’m proud of this group.”

High-flying center Nic Claxton and the Nets will play their first-ever regular-season game in Paris on Thursday. AP Photo by Noah K. Murray

Bridges finished with a game-high 42 points on 15-of-28 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range.

The 6-foot-6 forward also drained all eight of his free throws, snapping out of a funk that had seen him shoot no better than 42.9 percent from the field in his previous five games.

Despite the breakout performance, which included seven points in OT, Bridges remained disheartened by Brooklyn’s 11th loss in 14 games.

“Just getting to spots and making (shots),” Bridges said of his third 40-plus point scoring effort of the campaign. “But I don’t really care too much, especially after an ‘L.’”

Cam Johnson scored 17 points and Nic Claxton added 16 and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who committed 15 turnovers while forcing only nine on a night they led by as many as 10 points in the second half.

“Disappointed in the amount of possessions we gave away, whether we were up seven in the first quarter and the second quarter, and we give away possessions by being cute and not being simple,” Vaughn lamented.

“Those possessions get you a two-point lead at halftime instead of a 12-point lead, and that’s why we got a ball game.”

Key Nets reserve Day’Ron Sharpe had 11 points and six boards before leaving the floor with an injured left knee.

Vaughn indicated that Sharpe was scheduled to get an MRI in Brooklyn on Monday, but would not join the team on its trip to Paris.

He also appears to be running out of words to inspire a group that has only managed consecutive wins once in the past month.

And that modest streak was at the expense of league-worst Detroit during its league record-tying 28-game losing streak.

“We get to play in a couple of days. That’s all I said to them,” Vaughn intimated Sunday. “That’s all I had for them.”

The Nets better have something for the surging Cavaliers on Thursday, or it will be another long miserable flight back to Brooklyn ahead of Saturday’s homestand finale vs. Miami.

The Nets will miss reserve big man Day’Ron Sharpe in Paris this week as he undergoes an MRI and treatment for an injured left knee. AP Photo by Noah K. Murray

NOTHING BUT NET: The Nets will play their first-ever regular-season game in Paris. They did participate in a preseason contest there in 2008, when they were still based in New Jersey. … Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. had 10 points and a team-high 11 assists vs. the Blazers. … Claxton blocked four shots against Portland to match a season best. He has accomplished the feat on six occasions this year. … Following their home game vs. the Heat on Saturday, the Nets will open a three-game trip in Porland on Jan. 17.