Brooklyn Nets explode in fourth quarter for festive win over Milwaukee Bucks, 111-105

With the Bucks missing Giannis and Dame, another opportunity for a win presented itself. This time, the Nets took it.

Strength-of-schedule in the NBA is a myth.

You never know when the Milwaukee Bucks will be without both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, even with two off days between games, as they were on Thursday night when the Brooklyn Nets came to town.

Suddenly, the 11-18 Nets had another great opportunity to win a game and take the lead in their season series with the 2024 In-Season Tournament champions. Of course, Brooklyn’s rebuilding direction — and the front office’s boldness in keeping this direction — complicate that opportunity, but hey, it’s the holiday season, so we will spread some cheer and not focus on the ramifications of winning games in December with veterans not in Brooklyn’s long-term plans, some of whom won’t even survive the season. We’re all going to die someday anyway!

Plus, it was Noah Clowney’s efforts that kept the Nets in the game early on Thursday. Old friend Brook Lopez led an incredible 3-point charge that built Milwaukee a 13-point lead in the second quarter, but Clowney kept it to a manageable eight points at the half.

Of course, he got some help from the usual suspects like Cam Johnson, who led all scorers with 29 points including a poster dunk…

…but Clowney was the main source of relief as Brooklyn inched closer toward a potential win. The 20-year-old has, unsurprisingly, leveled up his game just as he’s gotten more consistent minutes to start this middle-third of the season, showing the early signs of becoming a real, valuable NBA player.

Much of his damage has come from the 3-point line, and he added a career-high six triples on nine attempts on Thursday, bringing him up to 38.7% on hefty volume for the season. But he also defended Khris Middleton admirably, finished a transition layup, and dropped this dime to an energized Nic Claxton early in the third quarter…

“His future is so bright. He doesn’t even know it yet, I don’t think,” said Johnson of his young teammate.

Baby steps!

As for Claxton, he shot just 3-of-6 from the stripe and 5-of-12 from the floor, including two misses from deep, but roundly passed the smell test after much talk about his underwhelming start to the season. Milwaukee shot just 56% at the rim on Thursday, per Cleaning the Glass, as Claxton made sure to take advantage of a star-less opponent by imposing his will on defense. And yes, he funneled his energy into positive vibes…

It looked like all these positives would result in a hard-fought loss, most folks’ ideal outcome for Nets games this season. Throughout the third and early fourth quarters, Brooklyn would cut the lead to a possession or two, then surrender a back-breaking three to a Milwaukee team that shot 39.5% from deep on the night. Even against a team lacking their best offensive players, Brooklyn showed why they have been one of the league’s worst defenses…

Said Head Coach Jordi Fernández: “They’re a good 3-point shooting team, and we got hurt at times. They still made 15 of them, almost 40%, so as I said, a team that likes to shoot threes, we needed to rebound. A lot of them were second-chance points, and we didn’t finish possessions.”

Then, the magic started. The Ghost of Christmas Past possessed Shake Milton, as the veteran guard scored 14 of his 20 points in a flurry, hitting four straight triples to make it a one-possession game.

Keon Johnson, who continued to look like one of the worst offensive guards in the NBA in the game’s first half, turned in a bunch of game-winning plays: A steal and a dunk, a go-ahead three, a beautiful spin move for a layup. What had gotten into these Nets?

It wasn’t all smoke and mirrors, though, nor just shooting 7-of-11 from deep in the fourth.

“It’s easier to get out and run when you get stops. It’s a different pace to the game, right? The shots are — it’s different when the defense is set all the time. So I think our defense allowed us to get better movement and better shots,” said Fernández.

While it is easier to guard the Bucks without Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brooklyn made no tactical adjustments in the fourth (other than having Clowney switch onto Middleton more). Instead, they just upped their intensity, pressured the ball, and threatened passing lanes more. Cam Johnson even drew a flagrant foul on Middleton by simply crowding his space and taking an elbow to the face.

Ultimately, it was a great win full of a holiday spirit, at least in a vacuum. Though if Brooklyn’s apparent inability to properly tank could be summarized in one play, it was the divine game-winner, a prayer that found just the right spot of backboard…

At least it was Noah Clowney who threw it up. And at least the Nets — meaning the players who wear the uniforms, who bump and bruise themselves on the court for first-year sensation Jordi Fernández, not the organization who will be fretting over ping-pong balls five months from now — fight.

“We just continue to believe, continue to fight,” said Johnson. “That’s the one thing that can’t go. When we believe we can win the game — which we did the entire game — we gave ourselves a chance … and then that kind of empowers guys to go out there and make plays, like Shake did, like Keon did, just big buckets, Noah hitting threes.”

The Brooklyn Nets now have two wins since the Dennis Schröder trade. The Golden State Warriors have one.

Final Score: Brooklyn Nets 111, Milwaukee Bucks 105

Milestone Watch

• Not only did Noah Clowney hit a career-high six triples on Thursday, but he reached 20 points for the second time in his career, and the first time this season.
• Shake Milton’s 20 points off the bench was his second 20-point outing for the Nets, and the third-most a reserve has scored this season.

Injury Report

Curiously, Dorian Finney-Smith said that he expected to play on Thursday night, but was ultimately ruled out with the left calf contusion (and probably, Brooklyn’s rebuild) that had kept him out of the previous two games as well.

“Nothing happened,” said Fernández in postgame. “It was discomfort, and obviously we’re not gonna force it. We want him to be 200%. He was disappointed, he wants to play … We’ll assess tomorrow and see where he’s at.”

While there were no updates on Cam Thomas, Ziaire Williams, and Trendon Watford, there was also no update on Ben Simmons. Which is good news! For the first time this season, Fernández did not commit to sitting Simmons for the second night of Brooklyn’s back-to-back on Friday, though that’s certainly a strong possibility.

Next Up

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

The alien lands, and on the second night of a back-to-back, no less. Brooklyn comes home to face Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Brooklyn Nets 111, Milwaukee Bucks 105 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Brooklyn Nets 111, Milwaukee Bucks (Video) – NBA
• Fantastic Finish: Final 3:22 of Wild Ending (Video) – NBA
• Jordi Fernández and Cam Johnson Talk Comeback Win At Bucks (Video) – Brooklyn Nets
• Noah Eagle and Sarah Kustok answer fan questions (Video) – YES Network
• Shake Milton talks about the Nets’ victory over the Bucks (Video) – YES Network
• Jordi Fernández reacts to big win in Milwaukee (Video) – YES Network
• Cameron Johnson on his 29-point performance in Milwaukee (Video) – YES Network
• Nets rally late for 111-105 victory over Bucks, who played again without Antetokounmpo and Lillard – Andrew Wagner – AP
• Nets use strong 4th quarter to slide past Bucks ($) – Reuters
• Nets topple shorthanded Bucks as impressive offense erupts in late run – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Cam Thomas’ injury return looming, and not a moment too soon for Nets – Brian Lewis – New York Post