With 0.9 seconds left on the clock, and his group down three, Spencer Dinwiddie knew all he may do was catch and shoot.A pump pretend would have taken too lengthy.
Same for an escape dribble or a double-clutch. So from a number of steps inside halfcourt, he caught an inbounds go and hoisted a wide-open shot that tied Saturday’s matchup in opposition to the Philadelphia 76ers at 101 apiece.
Until officers reviewed the play and decided the ball was nonetheless in his arms when the clock struck zero. The Nets misplaced a nail-biter to the Sixers, 101-98.
“I thought it was gonna be catch and shoot, Derek Fisher with 0.4,” Dinwiddie stated postgame. “I actually got a text from my bio-mechanics dude saying that he actually legitimately timed it and it was 0.78 on the nose, which is funny, but that’s life. I guess we’ve gotta talk to our in-game clock operator, right?”
Length, athleticism, protection, and an entire lot of three-point taking pictures, however who’s going to take the final shot?
Welcome to the second rendition of the 2022-23 Brooklyn Nets, the place the end result of a recreation is now not solely depending on a celebrity’s availability — except that recreation comes right down to the ultimate possession.
Down one with the sport on the road, Jacque Vaughn drew up a play for Mikal Bridges, the spotlight of the deal that despatched Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns. Bridges got here off a display screen to catch an inbounds go and had a free lane to the rack, however missed a straightforward layup.
“I thought it was good,” Bridges stated. “I assumed I put the appropriate little contact on it as a result of I noticed (Joel) Embiid stepping up.
“And then I turned and I saw Nic [Claxton] reach out and try to get the rebound. I was like, ‘Oh no.’ I looked at the time. I was hot. But it’s part of life. I’ll just get the next one.”
And on the next possession, after Joel Embiid netted two free throws, Dinwiddie’s deep three was dominated too late.
It was a powerful effort in opposition to a Philadelphia 76ers group with all their stars and function gamers accessible.
Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris had been every accessible for the Sixers Saturday night, but the new-look Nets performed to their newfound strengths, the chief of which comes as a byproduct of an inflow of measurement within the beginning lineup.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn moved Ben Simmons and Royce O’Neale to the bench. The Nets began all 4 newcomers alongside Nic Claxton: Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith, the pair who got here to Brooklyn within the Irving commerce to the Dallas Mavericks; and each Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, the “twins” who arrived from Phoenix within the Durant deal.
All 5 starters are not less than 6-foot-5. Four of the 5 starters are succesful three-point shooters. All 5 starters can guard a number of positions.
And all 5 play arduous each minute they’re on the ground.
That a lot was evident as a newly-formed Nets group outworked the Sixers on each ends of the ground, beginning with their effort on the defensive finish.
“The biggest thing is we only gave up 101 points,” Vaughn stated postgame. “Told the group if we’re able to put ourselves in positions to defend that way on an every-night basis, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win every single game. Commend our group for really concentrating on defensive end of the floor, giving ourselves a chance.”
The Nets used their newfound size to crowd the paint and make selections tough for Embiid, the celebrity albatross of a giant man who torched the Nets for 37 factors and 13 rebounds. James Harden added 29 factors, six rebounds and 6 assists and was topic to boos from the identical Barclays Center followers who as soon as cheered him earlier than he pressured a commerce to Philadelphia final season.
Tyrese Maxey got here off the bench and scored 12 factors. No different Sixer scored greater than six factors, a testomony to the size and defensive chops now on show from the Nets’ new lineup.
The stars, in fact, shine brightest within the fourth quarter. That’s the place the Nets challenge to overlook Irving and Durant probably the most.
Bridges led the Nets with 23 factors and 6 rebounds in his Nets debut. Dinwiddie shot simply 2-of-10 from the sector for 9 factors, six rebounds and 6 assists. Joe Harris got here off the bench to hit six threes and Cam Thomas scored 14 factors on 7-of-12 taking pictures from the sector.
The Nets performed an nearly excellent basketball recreation however have turn into used to Durant or Irving profitable video games for them in crunch time. How do they win these video games down the stretch now? More importantly, who do they flip to as the brand new nearer?
The Sixers outscored the Nets 25-16 within the fourth quarter.
“I think we had some good looks. And so whether that was Spencer’s dunk at the rim, his layup attack, Mikal had a good look, we had to open threes,” Vaughn stated. “So we could still play at a pace and create shots for each other, I think that’d be all right for us.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com