Michael Porter Jr. nearly led the Brooklyn Nets to their fourth win in five games on Friday. However, the forward's heroic offensive effort wasn't enough, as the Nets fell 119-111 to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center in a game that featured 23 lead changes.
Porter Jr. poured in 34 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 from three during the loss. It marked his fourth straight 30-point game, the longest streak of his career. Yet, Brooklyn couldn't muster the offense down the stretch to pull out the win.
The Nets shot 6-of-21 from the field and 2-of-9 from three while being outscored 29-19 in the fourth quarter. They struggled to contain Anthony Davis, as the Mavs star posted 20 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-17 shooting in the second half. Dallas outscored Brooklyn 7-0 in second-chance points in the final frame.
“I like the fight all the way through. I think the team competed well. But it came down to the defensive rebounding in the fourth,” Jordi Fernandez said. “I think they had 10 second-chance points in the fourth quarter. That’s how you lose games. And also transition defense. We’ve been better lately. A good team rebounding the ball and a good team in transition defense. And we couldn’t get it done today. Still proud of the effort and the guys. We gave ourselves a chance having a lead at the end and fighting all the way through.”
Finding consistent offense outside of Porter Jr. has been a struggle for Brooklyn this season.
Nets come up short down the stretch of road loss to Mavericks
Entering Saturday, the Nets had won their last five games against sub-500 teams with a +14.8 net rating with Porter Jr. in the lineup. However, they were 0-2 against sub-500 teams with a -15.7 net rating in games he missed.
“It’s a different brand of basketball in the last quarter, but really the last seven, eight minutes. It really tightens up, and you’ve got to hold your spots,” Porter Jr. said after Friday's loss. “You’ve got to own your spots a little bit better. You've got to be more aggressive. Guys are going to get away with more holding and stuff, so just being strong the last seven, eight minutes and being very decisive.”
Danny Wolf did his best to carry the load as Brooklyn's No. 2 scorer in Dallas. The rookie big man posted 17 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from three. Wolf has averaged 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 49/52/80 shooting splits in 24.6 minutes per game over the Nets' last six appearances after cracking the rotation.
Nic Claxton posted 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 5-of-12 shooting but struggled to contain Davis down the stretch. Terance Mann added 12 points, while Noah Clowney and Tyrese Martin chipped in 11 apiece.
Egor Demin struggled, posting three points, one rebound, one assist and two turnovers in 1-of-7 shooting in 18 minutes. Meanwhile, fellow rookies Drake Powell (three minutes) and Nolan Traore (nine minutes) combined for just 12 minutes.
The Nets will be back in action on Sunday when they host the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center.
