The Brooklyn Nets were on the verge of handing the Cleveland Cavaliers their first loss on Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. However, as was the case during Friday's road loss to the Boston Celtics, they came up short in the final minutes.
After trailing by 15 points during the first half, the Nets fought back to build a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter. But the Cavaliers would storm back, winning the final frame 35-18 to secure a 105-100 victory. Brooklyn struggled to execute down the stretch, shooting 3-of-10 with three turnovers in the final five minutes.
Head coach Jordi Fernandez took responsibility for his team's sloppy close following the loss.
“We lost the fourth quarter by 17 points, and that's not how you close games in this league on the road against a very good team. I told the guys it was my fault,” Fernandez said. “I ran Dennis [Schroder] 12 minutes in the fourth. I didn't give him a break. That's how your execution goes down; that's how your defense goes down. I didn't give Cam Thomas breaks, and then at the end, we paid for it. So I have to be better with my subs and be cleaner with the calls at the end.”
Schroder played 37 minutes in the defeat, including the entire fourth quarter. Thomas played 21 minutes in the second half. While the backcourt duo combined for 44 points and 11 assists, they ran out of gas late.
Nets struggles closing games against top competition continue
Meanwhile, Cleveland shot 14-of-18 with nine assists and zero turnovers in the fourth quarter. Darius Garland led the way, scoring eight of his 20 points in the final frame. Donovan Mitchell posted 22 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three during the win, while Evan Mobley tallied 23 on 10-of-11 from the field.
While the Nets have led for the majority of losses against the Denver Nuggets, Celtics and Cavaliers, they've lacked the star power to get over the hump in the clutch.
“That's the NBA. That's how good teams are good teams. They're able to win in the fourth quarter,” Cam Johnson said. “They're able to win no matter up five, down five, or anything around that. And that's the next step for us. We know how to compete; we know how to influence games and play our way. Now we have to learn how to win games in the fourth quarter.
“That's kind of the message right now is that it's not gonna be perfect, it's not gonna happen overnight, but we have to stick with it and not stop chasing that goal and not hang our heads.”
Johnson continued a hot stretch in Cleveland, posting a game-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from three. The loss marks the 28-year-old's fourth 20-point performance in 10 appearances this season. He reached the mark six times in 58 games in 2023-24.
Over Brooklyn's last seven games, Johnson has averaged 19.8 points on 50.5 percent shooting from the field and 44.6 percent from three.
The loss drops the Nets to 4-6. While it marks another impressive showing during their surprise start to the season, Fernandez wasn't buying into narratives about moral victories.
“This cannot happen again. We cannot get to the point where we can get the win and we make mistakes that are controllable,” the coach said. “Like the four straight turnovers in the third in Boston, the fourth quarter defense today, the turnovers today… I like the competitiveness playing here on the road in front of a great crowd with great energy, but it's not good enough… We all made mistakes, and we have to look at ourselves in the mirror.”
Brooklyn's schedule won't get easier, as they'll travel to face the New Orleans Pelicans before a home matchup with the Celtics and back-to-back meetings with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
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