CLEVELAND — The Nets played back-to-back games against the NBA's reigning champions and the league's only undefeated team. They led both in the closing stages but fell woefully short.
One night after an overtime loss in Boston, the Nets suffered another tough finish in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, suffering a heartbreaking 105-100 loss.
The Nets (4-6) lost to the Cavaliers in their first meeting since firing Kenny Atkinson as head coach in 2020.
He had the last laugh as Cleveland came from behind to lead the league with an 11-0 record.
The Nets had one of the most daunting back-to-back games ever, leading a near-close game in Boston before losing in overtime to the defending champion Celtics. One night later, it was the Cavs in white.
The Nets led by seven points with 4:09 left, but allowed 10 unanswered points to take the lead. Dennis Schroder's free throw with 1:39 left put them within 99-98, but Darius Garland's jumper put them back in the 3-point hole.
Cam Thomas (22 points) made a tough baseline fade to pull the Nets within 101-100, but Ty Jerome cut the gap back to three.
When Schroder (22 points) missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game at 27.8 points, overtime was ruled out.
Cam Johnson led the Nets with 23 points. His six consecutive 30-minute games with no turnovers and multiple threes tied an NBA record.
For the Cavs, Evan Mobley scored 23 points and Donovan Mitchell added 22 points.
“Right now, I think they're playing like the best team in the NBA,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said before the game. “Obviously their offense was great. If this season had ended, they would be the best offense in NBA history. It's about how well they play, defensively their size, ability to switch, It says a lot about the rim protection he has. So it will be a good challenge for us.
“Our group has built that chemistry, and obviously no one likes it. [lose]but especially our group, we feel like we could have done better and now we're moving on to the next game. That's the beauty of the NBA. If you really care, if you're really competitive and it's that close, you have a chance to go back-to-back the next day. So I'm ready to come here and fight. We've come this far, but it doesn't mean anything. I have to do it again. ”
Thomas saw the Cavaliers attack two defenders at him and physically try to knock him out of the game. That worked for most of the first half, as they were quiet on 1-of-6 shooting with two turnovers, but helped fight back into the game.
When the Nets lost. NBAE (via Getty Images)
The Nets trailed by six points and absorbed Cleveland's 9-0 blitz, suddenly increasing the lead to 15 points.
The Nets took a 52-37 lead after former Net Caris LeVert hit Darius Garland with an open 3-pointer with 6:30 left in the first half.
That's when they put together a 33-5 overtime run in the second half to change the game. They strung together 15 unanswered points that came out of the locker room, with Schroder finding Thomas for three points.
That gave the Nets a 70-57 lead with 7:43 left in the third quarter, and they spent the rest of the game defending it.
The Nets' lead narrowed late in the fourth, when LeVert's dunk off a Nic Claxton turnover pulled Cleveland within 91-89 with 5:31 remaining.
The Cavaliers had a chance to tie or take the lead when Schroder missed a 3-pointer.
But Dorian Finney-Smith dove for an offensive rebound and his putback stopped the bleeding.
Johnson then made a clutch 3-pointer to restore the Nets' cushion to 96-89 with 4:24 of regulation time.
Schroder's turnover led to Garland's jumper, cutting the lead to 96-95.
His free throws erased the lead, giving Cleveland a 97-96 lead with 2:31 remaining.
Thomas lost the ball wide and Garland dunked Mobley for a 99-96 lead. The Nets never recovered.
