Brooklyn Nets fall victim to balanced San Antonio Spurs attack, lose sluggish game 96-87

Despite the hype around the generational Victor Wembanyama, that was an ugly game at Barclays Center on Friday night, though the Nets did once again fight.

To no surprise, Barclays Center was packed on Friday night, as the Brooklyn Nets hosted the San Antonio Spurs. What better holiday present than a ticket to see Victor Wembanyama during his annual trip to New York City, especially following his 42-point performance on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden, not quite a coming out party, but another flashpoint on his inevitable climb to all-time greatness?

Wembanyama generally does not process what’s happening on defense yet; he does not do his work early, he is often unaware of cutters unless they dare to cut in front of his face. Typical 20-year-old big man stuff.

And yet, he will likely deservedly win his first of many Defensive Player of the Year awards this season. A 41-41 first half on Friday night may not have been what fans came to see, especially with Wemby scoring just four points on 2-of-6 shooting, but it flaunted his incomparable greatness nonetheless.

He “only” blocked two shots, but Brooklyn had no hope of scoring in the paint anyway, either reversing course when Wemby was in the area, or having their attempts drastically altered. The Nets only drew two shooting fouls in the first half, and worse yet, San Antonio’s weak-side defenders did not have to move muscles with Wemby on the court. Tagging the roller is not a thing for San Antonio, Wemby’s got that covered. (The Spurs give up the fourth-fewest corner threes in the league, per Cleaning the Glass.)

“His presence, his shot-blocking, it’s very impressive, and you got to get used to it,” said Jordi Fernández.

It’s simple; the 7’5” phenomenon covers more ground in less time than anybody else in basketball history. What’s it going to look like when he knows how to play defense?

Maybe it’ll look like Brooklyn’s first quarter, a stunning display of defensive efficiency based on effort and precision. The dozen minutes was likely their best defensive display of the season, surrendering only eight points until Keldon Johnson hit a running 40-footer at the buzzer.

Every rotation was made, and second and third efforts followed from each Net who touched the floor…

Shake Milton, who started for the resting Ben Simmons, said: “That first quarter was everything that we talked about since the summer time, executing our reds [switches], being in the right position, having a consistent low man, the ball pressure was elite.”

On a back-to-back, missing Cam Johnson, Cam Thomas, Ben Simmons and more, the Nets put up an early fight that got the home crowd on their side, particularly as Wemby underwhelmed on offense. The hustle plays, and Nic Claxton’s loud dunks, did not go unappreciated…

Like last season’s matchup at Barclays, Clax stuck it to Wemby a bit in the first half, locking him up on a couple possessions and outscoring him early. He even walked away from perennial antagonist Jeremy Sochan to avoid an early technical foul, much to the delight of Brooklyn’s bench.

Alas, year two Wemby is a little different, so the Frenchman simply came out in the third quarter and hit three increasingly difficult threes before the media timeout. Suddenly, an easily swayed Barclays Center crowd remembered who they had come to see…

That was the beginning of the end for Brooklyn.

Perhaps at the end of their rope on the two-city back-to-back, their defensive structure collapsed as well. Starting with Keldon Johnson’s first-quarter heave, the Spurs made 10-of-15 threes; Wemby’s prodigiousness only gifted them a couple makes, the rest were donated by a Nets defense that had stopped flying around in space…

Said Fernández: “Our ball pressure, I think the guys tried. It was not as good as yesterday, and that’s what we needed at the end, is to create more turnovers and do it one way or another, and we couldn’t, we couldn’t win that battle.

Brooklyn never gave up, but simply ran out of offensive juice. Thanks to eight feet of Wembanyama arms, acting Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson did not need to put two on the ball against any Net, but parked the young center in drop coverage, where he was a total deterrent.

And when San Antonio did switch (pretty much every action Wembanyama wasn’t in) no available Net was consistently torching any 1-on-1 matchups.

Shake Milton came the closest, scoring 16 points with a whopping 12 assists, crafting enough space off the dribble to escape Wemby’s reach. A couple of those assists went to Nic Claxton, who finished with 11 and ten on 5-of-13 shooting, missing just a few too many looks at the rim to really pop off.

Tyrese Martin added 13 points, but it was Keon Johnson who led the way with 25 on 50% shooting, scoring 15 straight for the Nets in the fourth quarter to keep the game interesting, and the score respectable. He filled lanes in transition, hit a few spot-up threes with confidence, all en route to his best offensive game of the year.

“That first shot, it felt good,” said the 22-year-old. “And I mean after that, it kind of transpired into later on in the game. But just the confidence that coach Jordi is pouring into everyone, continuing to let it fly, it obviously helps. Especially for a guy like me, being able to come in and do what I’ve done tonight.”

The same could not be said for Noah Clowney, who followed up his 20-point outing in Milwaukee with just five points on 2-of-6 shooting. He played a fine ballgame, but as a play-finisher rather than creator, his teammates couldn’t create enough opportunities for him to really shine. Plus, a pair of techs in the fourth quarter ended his night early…

Clowney had a curt explanation of the first ejection in his career postgame: “He called a foul, I said something to the player, he thought I was talking to him. He proceeded to call the tech, then after that, I said some words to him, and then I got another tech.”

Though the Barclays Center may have gotten what they came to see with Wembanyama leading San Antonio in scoring, Clowney’s frustrations were understandable. Offense was absolute slog for the Nets, who turned it over 18 times, and their defensive effort was truly excellent for just a quarter.

To be expected given the circumstances? Perhaps.

But ultimately, Friday’s loss was a reminder that Brooklyn can fight hard and dive on the floor all they want. This franchise’s success, though, hinges on acquiring a player who can move the masses and move winning basketball like Victor Wembanyama, though nobody will do it quite like Wemby.

The best way to do that has been debated ad nauseam, though the Nets’ front office had made their feelings on the matter clear. All that’s left to really do is wait, and enjoy Brooklyn’s efforts in the meantime.

Final Score: San Antonio Spurs 96, Brooklyn Nets 87

Milestone Watch

• Shake Milton’s dozen dimes ties Deron Williams and trails only James Harden for the most assists ever handed out in an inaugural start with the Nets. It is the second-most assists Milton has ever had in a game in his career.
• Nic Claxton recorded his 68th career double-double on Friday night, moving him into a tie with Bernard King for ninth place in Nets NBA history. Next up is Keith Van Horn, who had 80 10x10s.
• Jordi Fernández celebrated his 42nd birthday on Friday night; Brooklyn posted this heart-warming photo of the mini-celebration with his family and team…

Injury Report

It doesn’t appear that Cam Johnson’s injury is overly serious. After all, he did take a number of hard falls and smacks against the Milwaukee Bucks, then flew right to Brooklyn for a back-to-back.

“CJ took a knee to the hip, I think it was reported, so he’s going to be out tonight,” was all Fernández had to say on the veteran wing pregame.

Ben Simmons’ absence was no surprise; the Aussie still hasn’t played a back-to-back this season, and when Brooklyn’s head coach was asked how far away that accomplishment may be, he remained mum: “It’s a good question, and I’m not going to answer it, but you know, he’s doing great. The good thing is, we go from a certain amount of minutes, now he’s been playing close to 30 lately … The next step is playing back-to-backs. But it’s not just, we’re going to do it just to do it. We’re going to do it whenever we believe that his body is ready to handle it.”

There are still no updates on Trendon Watford, Cam Thomas, and Ziaire Williams, though all are expected to return around the new year.

Next Up

Photo by Gary Bassing/NBAE via Getty Images

The Nets hit the road for a three-game tour of Eastern Conference opponents, starting with those pesky Orlando Magic again. Tip-off is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: San Antonio Spurs 96, Brooklyn Nets 97 – NBA
• Game Highlights: San Antonio Spurs 96, Brooklyn Nets 97 (Video) – NBA
• Jordi Fernández, Keon Johnson and Shake Milton Postgame Press Conference vs. Spurs (Video) – Brooklyn Nets
• Meghan Triplett provides an update on Cameron Johnson and more (Video) – Nancy Newman – YES Network
• Nic Claxton on the keys to the second half vs. Spurs (Video) – Meghan Triplett – YES Network
• Sarah Kustok’s most dominant stretch playing college basketball (Video) – Sarah Kustok & Ian Eagle – YES Network
• Jordi Fernández discusses Noah Clowney’s breakout (Video) – YES Network
• Jordi Fernández breaks down Nets’ loss to Spurs (Video) – YES Network
• Wembanyama has 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks to lead Spurs to 96-87 win over Nets – Pat Pickens – AP
• Spurs awaken from poor start, dump Nets – Larry Fleischer – Reuters
• Undermanned Nets overpowered by Victor Wembanyama, Spurs in tough loss – Peter Botte – New York Post
• Nets unable to sustain defensive effort for four quarters, fall to Spurs 96-87 at home – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Nets Notebook: Jordi Fernandez speaks on Kings decision to fire Mike Brown – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News