Ollie Could Not Get Brooklyn To The Playoffs
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Shara Talia Taylor
Ankle Injury Sidelines Claxton Against Kings
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Sacramento Kings in a 107-77 loss last Sunday evening with only one home game remaining in their regular season.
The game started swiftly as teams matched shots, but Brooklyn fell behind and could not regain a lead after the first quarter. The Nets pushed back after halftime, but Sacramento kept them from closing in on the scoring gap as they took advantage of the Nets depleted roster and turnovers.
“Teams like that you can’t make too many errors,” said Trendon Watford. “They capitalized off of them and we couldn’t really close it back.”
Brooklyn had 17 total turnovers. Watford said they were fatigued by the end of the game. He and other young teammates had more playing time Saturday as veterans including Nic Claxton, Dorian Finney-Smith and Cam Johnson were out with injuries. Watford played 32:50, Cam Thomas played 36:06 and Noah Clowney who had first career start played 34:52. Watford finished with 16 points, seven total rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot. Cam Thomas who has led the team in scoring in recent games, including Sunday, had 21 points, four total rebounds, an assist and a steal.
“Sacramento is still playing for a seeding in the playoffs so these teams are still going to play aggressively and play hard, but these minutes are crucial for their learning growth, getting some viable minutes so they can have some great experiences coming back for next year,” said interim head Coach Kevin Ollie.
The Nets look ahead for next year now that they are eliminated from the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
Coach Ollie said they tried different lineups to combat the Kings. “It’s a really good team,” he said. “Fox (De’Aaron Fox) controlling things and Sabonis (Domantas Sabonis) being able to dunk in some of our guys.”
The Nets started the game energized and led 14-7, their largest lead in the game, with about 5:47 minutes remaining in the first quarter. Brooklyn trailed 27-10 by the end of the quarter as Sacramento picked up their pace. Brooklyn trailed 60-45 by halftime. Mikal Bridges had not scored. The Nets outscored the Kings 24-13 in the quarter alone, but trailed 78-46. The Kings fought back and outscored the Nets 29-13 in the fourth quarter.
Ollie, who could not get the team to the post-season after taking over for Jacque Vaughn, will more than likely be replaced.
Brooklyn will face the 76ers in their final game of the season next Sunday in Philadelphia.
