The undermanned Nets have played 31 games this season, and first-year coach Jordi Fernandez has already used 16 different starting lineups.
Brooklyn admirably has enough wins to somehow survive the play-in cutoff as the new year approaches, but the Nets were unable to contain Victor Wembaneyama and the Spurs on Friday night at Barclays Center. , lost 96-87.
Starters Cam Johnson (hip contusion) and Ben Simmons (hip maintenance) are out of the Nets' lineup, joining leading scorer Cam Thomas (hamstring).
Veteran guard Shake Milton made his first start of the season, scoring 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter of Thursday's come-from-behind victory at Milwaukee.
He had 16 points and a career-high 12 assists, but the Nets committed 18 turnovers and fell to 12-19 heading into Sunday's game in Orlando.
“I felt good. It's not an easy job sometimes to do what the team asks you to do,” said Milton, who turned the ball over just once. “Pickup 94” [feet defensively] Then I tried to handle the rocks and get the players to the right place.
“But everyone's selfish, everyone's doing their part. And I just tried to step up and help the team as much as I could.”
Wenbanyama scored 15 of his 19 points after halftime after recording 42 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots in a loss to the Knicks at the Garden on Christmas Day.
Former St. John's standout Julien Champagnie added 18 points off the bench for San Antonio (16-15).
“When you know there’s a guy who’s just as big, it definitely makes things a lot more difficult.” [Wembanyama] said Keon Johnson, who scored 15 of his career-high 25 points in the fourth quarter. “We knew in our game plan that if we got two feet in the paint, that's where we were going to get a sprayout. It's really hard to try to avoid it.”
Balls like Tyrese Martin of the Brooklyn Nets
Friday night, we were late defensively in the first half.
Barclays Center. Robert Szabo of the New York Post
Nick Claxton had 11 points and 10 boards against Wenbanyama.
Dorian Finney-Smith returned after missing three games with a calf issue but scored just two points in 27 minutes.
Milton is one of the players who has played regularly and contributed despite a rash of injuries, especially since point guard Dennis Schroder was traded to the Warriors earlier this month.
Milton and Keon Johnson were the starters in the backcourt, with Simmons sitting at the back for back-to-back games due to maintenance on a tight hip.
Wenbanyama had an early dunk, but the 7-foot-3 French phenom was outscored early by Claxton, 6-2, and the Nets took a 22-11 lead after 12 minutes.
The Spurs missed 21 of 25 field goals during the period, keeping themselves from single digits only when Keldon Johnson sank a midcourt shot at the buzzer.
This remains the fewest points Brooklyn has allowed in any quarter this season and the lowest first-quarter point total since holding the Hornets to 11 points in April 2021.
The Spurs scored the first nine points and opened with a 14-2 spurt, but fell behind by one point just three minutes into the second quarter.
With both sides tied at 41 points at intermission, Champagnie made 10 shots during the period, including three 3-pointers.
Wenbanyama made a two-handed dunk from inside and outside and hit a corner 3 to make it a one-point lead. He then drained two more long-range buckets, helping extend the Spurs' advantage to 74-62 going into the game. By 17 points in the final quarter and early in the fourth quarter.
“I think the three threes Wenby made there changed the game a little bit,” Fernandez said. “Special players make tough shots. That's the reality of this business. But I'm proud of our guys because we're down by 17 points. We kept fighting and ultimately Even though we were down by nine points, we still had more possession.”
“And what I want all my players to have is the attitude to keep fighting and give yourself a chance.”
