Brooklyn Nets come crashing back to Earth, Orlando Magic destroy them 123-100

Franz Wagner and the Magic poured a bucket of cold water on the fun, exciting, feisty Brooklyn Nets, who sometimes just don’t have the talent to keep up.

The Brooklyn Nets tasted their own medicine on Friday night, and it poisoned them.

On Friday night, Jordi Fernández’s band of agitators returned home following a four-game road trip, the last three out West. And with increasingly skeleton crews against the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn marched into those cities city and out-willed opponents that only over-matched them on paper.

As Brooklyn’s stable of available players decreased, the wins only grew in absurdity. A gutty win full of 3-point shooting and Cam Thomas buckets in Sacramento was believable enough. But an 18-point comeback in the second half to defeat the #1 seed Warriors the very next night?

Then, as Cam Thomas headed to the shelf for at least three weeks with a hamstring injury, Tyrese Martin — two-way contract Tyrese Martin, 33 career points to his name — simply replaced Thomas’ impact by scoring 30 damn points to lead the Nets to a win.

At 9-10 through 19 games, Brooklyn had already become a caricature of themselves, redefining what it means to have a next-man-up mentality, toughness, and 3-point shooting — all in a season that Sean Marks designed for a tank job. If Nets fans are pulling their hair out thinking about NBA Draft Lottery odds, rest assured that the Nets themselves do not care one bit…

Alas, you’d be hard-pressed to find an NBA team that cares less about Brooklyn’s plucky attitude than the Orlando Magic.

The Magic lost their first four games without the injured Paolo Banchero, but prior to Friday night in Brooklyn, had won 10-of-11-games with Franz Wagner rightfully taking the throne as Orlando’s best player (which he always has been).

But it’s not just Wagner, as Jordi Fernández explained pregame: “It’s been not just him. Obviously, averaging 26 points is big for them, but I think as a team they have all done things the right way. Moving the ball, Jalen [Suggs] is also playing very well, defending at an extremely high level, so they’re very well-coached. Like I said, a great culture established by [Head Coach] Jamahl [Mosley] and his group. Their togetherness is great, you can see it, their competitiveness.”

Brooklyn would need more than the power of friendship and smiles to outlast the Magic for their fourth straight win on Friday, but they’d also need to get even tougher. Nic Claxton may have been available after more back-related absences out West, but Orlando is not the slim Suns or Warriors. Wendell Carter Jr., Goga Bitadze, and Moe Wagner comprise a legit 3-man center rotation, and are all guys that like to throw their weight around.

But these Nets did not fold at the sight of some seven-footers. They battled back from early double-digit deficits on the back of Shake Milton, who’d lead the team with 22 points…

They also matched Orlando’s feisty (some might say annoying or combative) nature. With with Claxton and Trendon Watford in the fold, Brooklyn offered something resembling an NBA-sized front-court, but those two came off the bench. It was actually Ben Simmons who brought the funk on Friday, although he took just two shots (4/7/8), even with Cam Thomas and Dennis Schröder missing.

Still, a lively Barclays Center crowd appreciated Simmons throwing his weight around and getting into it with the Magic’s Jalen Suggs, a brief face-to-face meeting at mid-court resulting in double techs…

Unfortunately, that represented Brooklyn’s high-water mark in their fourth In-Season Tournament game. Orlando finished the second quarter on a 13-3 run, then using that momentum to dominate the third quarter, effectively ending the game after 36 minutes.

If it wasn’t Orlando’s raw size that killed the Nets, it was their 3-point shooting and physicality. The same way Brooklyn annoyed their Western Conference opponents into the dust, the Magic killed the Nets, shooting 18-of-35 from deep and forcing 20 turnovers…

It was an onslaught, as Orlando became one of the only teams in the NBA this season to kill Brooklyn’s spirit. It’s not even that Brooklyn couldn’t make shots; the Nets had five double-digit scorers, but six players had multiple turnovers. Yes, they made 14-of-29 threes — good for a sparkling 48.3% — but that also marks the the fewest attempts they’ve taken from deep all season.

“That’s what [the Magic] do,” said Fernández postgame. “They have size, they have switchability, they have ball-pressure. So if they turn you over 20 times, you know, 20 of those turnovers should be 3-point attempts. Even if you miss them, you still have a chance to offensive rebound. We just were not able to execute, and we paid for it.”

The box score may portray a sloppy game all-around, but it only felt that way for the home team. Because while the Nets did force 17 Orlando turnovers, it did not spring them into their own offense nearly as much…

Fernández’s pregame comments proved prophetic, as Orlando dominated as a whole, though they were led by Franz Wagner.

The 8th pick of the 2021 NBA Draft cruised to a 29/8/8/2/1 line. He got buckets in isolation, off movement, in transition, and in the pick-and-rolls all while finding 3-point shooters and lob threats under the rim. It was the type of performance no single Net is capable of, and a reminder of why a loss like Friday night is still the direction that makes the most sense for this team. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went on a tear from three, but as good as he is, you find him down the line. You hunt for the Franz Wagner, and yes, it’s rare he falls to the eighth pick.

Not every loss is reflective of the team’s direction, nor is every win, but Friday night is more indicative of how Brooklyn’s season is “supposed” to go than their euphoric three-game stretch out West. Franz Wagner is supposed to drive and finish right around Keon Johnson; Tyrese Martin is not supposed to son Devin Booker.

Having seen both of those outcomes within the last week, many Nets fans will still take the red pill, and they are right to do so.

The logic behind short-term losing is undeniable. It’s just not very fun.

Final: Orlando Magic 123, Brooklyn Nets 100

Injury Report

Once again, the Nets were missing quite a few rotation players on Friday night, but unlike their swing out West, there were few surprises on the injury report.

Dennis Schröder was an expected absence due to personal reasons, as were Noah Clowney (ankle sprain) and Cam Thomas (hamstring). Bojan Bogdanović and Day’Ron Sharpe continue to miss time, though the latter is expected back within the week, per Nets PR.

There were three question marks on the initial injury report; Nic Claxton and his recurring back issue made an appearance off the bench, while the right calf tightness that prevented Jalen Wilson from playing in Phoenix did not keep him out of the lineup vs. Orlando.

However, Dorian Finney-Smith missed his fifth (non-consecutive) game with a left ankle sprain, a pesky ailment that’s been the only thing holding him back this season.

Said Fernández. “I think that he’s a guy that will run through the wall for his teammates. So if you ask him, he’ll always say he’s ready to go. And that’s a guy, a lot of times, we’ll have to save him from himself. But that’s what veterans and leaders and tough players do. I’m very happy with what he means for the group. He brings us together, he gives us that toughness that we need, he’s been buying into being ready and shooting the ball … you know he’ll fight, and it’s important for the group. But again, we need him healthy, and if we have to, we’ll save him from himself.”

NBA Cup dreams die

By a series of complicated tie-break machinations, Brooklyn’s slim chances of winning the In-Season Tournament perished before their game even tipped off on Friday night, as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers.

(Even if Jordi Fernández didn’t initially believe it: “There’s still a chance to be second, right? Wildcard? No, not anymore? At least that’s what my analytics people said, so I’d rather trust my analytics people — no disrespect to any of you guys — but they’re, like, way smarter with numbers.”)

But after Orlando’s blowout victory, it has been definitively settled: the Nets will not advance to the knockout round and contend for a trophy this season. Below are the updated standings:

Next Up

Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images

“When a team beats you like that, you want to see them again.” — Jalen Wilson

Indeed, the Brooklyn Nets will host the Orlando Magic yet again on Sunday afternoon, though that game will not count toward the Cup. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Orlando Magic 123, Brooklyn Nets 100 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Orlando Magic 123, Brooklyn Nets 100 (Video) – NBA