LAS VEGAS — Scores don’t mean much in summer league.
But the Nets are hopeful that with courage and mental fortitude they can do it.
The Nets have demonstrated a penchant for digging deep holes for themselves and then crawling out of them.
The most recent was a 92-85 comeback win over the Knicks at Thomas & Mack Arena.
The Nets, who were trailing by as many as 21 points, came back to improve to 2-1.
“It’s fun. It’s not fun to be down double digits like that. It’s not fun to be down that much. It takes a big lead to overcome that,” Steve Hetzel said. “What was great was they never stopped competing. The passion and the competitiveness and the pressure on the ball. That’s everything we wanted from them and it really lit a fire on our team. It was fun to be a part of that.”
As always, Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney led the way, with help from Keion Johnson.
Wilson, a second-year pro who plays like a fourth-year veteran, put in another impressive performance with 27 points and a plus-19 rating (both game highs) and some much-needed physical play.
Johnson, an unrestricted free agent seeking a contract, made another strong statement to Nets general manager Sean Marks, who was sitting courtside.
He finished with 10 points and five assists, answering Hetzel’s challenge to be the team’s best perimeter defender.
“Yeah, definitely, learning how to make my mark on the game has made me more confident on the court. I feel like every time I step on the court I’m trying to present myself as a dog person, which is what coach labeled me as. … Like you said, when I go out on the court and present myself as that dog person, I feel like it raises the level of our play,” Johnson said, adding, “I think I made a good impression.”
With the score tied at 83-83 with 1 minute and 6 seconds left, Johnson scored the go-ahead points on a 25-foot shot off a pass from Jalen Martin.
Wilson added a 3-pointer moments later to make the score 89-83 and the Nets held on.
“We’re being more aggressive. We were too weak in the first quarter, we didn’t press them, we made them uncomfortable offensively and we didn’t put pressure on them,” he said. [and letting them] “Offensively we pretty much had it all,” Wilson said, “so after we stepped up in the deepest part of the second quarter, you could see the momentum shift throughout the rest of the game.”
Brooklyn allowed nine straight Knicks points, capped by a Jacob Toppin dunk over Clowney, to take an early 10-3 lead.
The Nets shot just 4-of-16 from the field and 2-of-11 from 3-point range, and the lead continued to widen as the first quarter drew to a close.
Meanwhile, the Nets allowed New York to shoot 12 of 16 from the field in their opening game.
But Wilson and Clowney turned the tide in the second set.
They forced eight turnovers with their destructive defense and their mistakes led to a 16-0 outscore of the Knicks.
Wilson took to the court and ran around, scoring 11 points in the second quarter for a 28-15 victory.
His points helped the Nets get back into the game, scoring 14 straight points to end the first half.
The Nets tied the game at 65-65, and the rest of the team fought tooth and nail until the end.
Jacob Gilyard had seven steals.
“With five minutes left in the second quarter, they went on the offensive. We kept challenging them in the huddle and kept going on the offensive. Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney, their pressure on the ball, their deflections, making sure the other team knew what they were playing turned the tide,” Hetzel said, adding of their leadership. “That’s what it’s all about. They’re the leaders of the team, and when they make a play, everybody else follows. If they’re doing it, there’s no excuse for everybody else not to do it.”
The Nets do not make their assistant coaches available to the media, but assistant Juwan Howard spoke to NBA TV following Brooklyn’s win over the Knicks in the Las Vegas Summer League.
The former Miami player and assistant coach called himself a Heat “player for life” but was predictably bullish about the rebuild the current team is beginning.
“As you all know, my heart will always be with the Heat. I’ve been a Heat fan my whole life,” Howard said, “but at the same time, being part of the Brooklyn Nets, this is a new chapter and we’re going to build something special there.”
The 51-year-old is the only member of coach Jordi Fernandez’s staff with championship experience (2012 and 2013 with Miami) or head coaching experience at the NBA or college level (University of Michigan).
Darik Whitehead’s on-court struggles continued after his return.
The Nets’ 2023 first-round draft pick made just 4 of 24 shots through his first two games, including 0 of 10 shooting and 0 of 8 from the 3-point line, for just one point.
