Brooklyn Nets suffer late collapse against Orlando Magic, lose 102-101

Cam Thomas returned and did all he could, but his prayer at the buzzer to save the Nets from their worst loss of the season skidded off back rim.

The Brooklyn Nets may have traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Los Angeles Lakers to begin Sunday afternoon, but, if we’ve learned anything from the team’s first 31 games, that wasn’t any of the players’ business.

The Nets entered their Sunday contest with the Orlando Magic at just 12-19, but having battled many-an-injury and the start of a roster takedown in pursuit of a true rebuild, their play exceeds expectations. Guys just keep stepping up.

In his final game with the Nets, Shake Milton (who has now been on five different NBA teams in 2024!) dropped 16 points and recorded 12 assists, starting at point guard for the resting Ben Simmons and the departed Dennis Schröder. Though Simmons was back against Orlando, his return wasn’t Brooklyn’s only boost at guard.

Cam Thomas returned from 13 straight absences with a hamstring strain, and though he came off the bench on Sunday, everything else about his game was unchanged from his hiatus. His first bucket? Beyond parody…

Though the rust showed at times, Thomas still posted 25/6/6 on 6-of-18 shooting.

Said Brooklyn’s leading scorer: “It’s definitely good to be back on the court playing, definitely — you get a shot for your first shot, it feels good for the game. But still, to my standards, I think I still need a few more games to get back into the game flow, get game reps. Some of the shots I was missing today, I don’t normally miss those.”

Thomas played just under 25 minutes, Jordi Fernández aligned them so that CT closed the game, a necessary move after Cam Johnson departed early with hip soreness, the same injury designation that sat him down for Brooklyn’s previous game.

But the Orlando Magic were even more depleted, and it finally caught up with them on Sunday. No Paolo Banchero, no Franz Wagner nor his brother Moe, and the already-hobbled Jalen Suggs departed early with an ankle sprain.

Then the other shoe finally dropped. The Nets built a 21-point lead with the Magic unable to answer offensively. They fought and scrapped per usual, turning the second half into a back-and-forth bickering match between both teams and the referees, but for the first time in their four matchups this season, Brooklyn was more composed…

Goga Bitadze only antagonized the Nets into one flagrant foul, committed by Simmons, and even then, he missed the free throw. When Jalen Wilson hit three straight rainbow triples in the early fourth quarter, it felt like an unanswerable punch by the visitors. Even without Johnson, the Nets had way more offensive juice than Orlando, and were on their way to shooting 13-of-30 from deep and 24-of-28 from the line.

In a reversal of Brooklyn’s previous three losses to this team, it was the Magic who could not physically defend without fouling. Fernández’s team had finally flipped the script. Then they collapsed.

After Wilson’s third consecutive triple at the 7:16 mark of the fourth quarter, the Nets led by 17 points; they did not make another field goal.

“We had zero effort, zero focus,” said Fernández postgame. Simple.

The Orlando Magic did, erasing another big deficit in a team-wide effort, finishing with five double-digit scorers. Tristan da Silva was awesome, leading the way late to finish with 21/6/7, while reserves Caleb Houstan, Gary Harris, and Cole Anthony made big-time threes in the second-half.

The latter, a New York City native, stuck the dagger into Fernández’s squad. After a wild sequence in which the two teams traded go-ahead free-throws, he drove the lane after yet another defensive miscue by Brooklyn, and hit a soft floater off the glass for game…

The Nets had an opportunity to respond, and predictably, got the ball in Cam Thomas’ hands with 1.3 seconds to go. It was a solid play-call given the circumstances, giving Brooklyn’s best tough shot-maker had the chance to make a tough shot for the win.

His baseline fadeaway hurtled through the air, and the impossible attempt looked right on line to become a storied shot in the 23-year-old’s young career. The ball fell toward the rim, and yet, the result hardly mattered beyond Brooklyn’s bench.

The Nets began the day by, again, trading away players that had won them games this season for second-round picks and expiring salary. That decision reverberated through Fernández’s postgame press conference, when he said of Brooklyn’s late collapse, “We just needed one more grown-up to bring the guys together, and calm everybody down, and execute on the defensive end, and win the game. And it didn’t happen.”

Thomas hitting a game-winner and getting mobbed by his teammates would have been euphoric, particularly when it would have avoided a season-series sweep at the hands of a team that has antagonized them for four straight games. But frankly, Thomas’ attempt bouncing off the back of the rim is more than a consolation prize…

It’s the goal. It’s the goal because it is, cruelly and indifferently to the emotions of fandom, the most pragmatic way to build a team where these moments don’t make the difference between a 13-19 record or a 12-20 record, but something more meaningful.

So Thomas missed, and Fernández really got to rip his team a few minutes later: “It was a clear sign of not being mature. Obviously, the consistency, the focus, but it’s basically — you do so many good things for the first half, and then you put the worst performance you can put, and you act like you don’t care on the defensive end.”

Though losing may be the goal for this season, and though those losses may be satisfactory for the decision-makers and some fans, they still hurt. Players are at fault, even Thomas, who stopped passing altogether and shot 1-of-7 in the fourth. Nic Claxton had a particularly subpar outing, once again being handily outplayed by Bitadze, losing his minutes by 19 points.

Thomas’ final miss, more than anything else, was initially heart-breaking but ultimately provides a sigh of relief. What does that say about the NBA? About fandom? About the Brooklyn Nets’ plan?

Better to answer those questions another time and hope for the best. Hey! At least Noah Clowney shot 3-of-5 from three!

Final Score: Orlando Magic 102, Brooklyn Nets 101

Injury Report

Despite Cam Johnson’s early departure after scoring nine points in just under 25 minutes, there is not much news to report here, as Jordi Fernández did not have a postgame update available.

Johnson will have two full off-days to recover, and Ziaire Williams (knee) and Trendon Watford (hamstring) will have the same time to potentially get ready for Brooklyn’s next game. Though the team didn’t provide any update on their prospects either, their returns are expected to be imminent.

Next Up

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

That does it for 2024. What a year.

Brooklyn’s next game is on New Year’s Day (Wednesday) a road contest against the Toronto Raptors, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Orlando Magic 102, Brooklyn Nets 101 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Orlando Magic 102, Brooklyn Nets 101 (Video) – NBA
• Fantastic Finish: Final 4:14 WILD ENDING Nets vs Magic (Video) – NBA
• The Magic pull off another big comeback, this time from 21 points down to beat the Nets – AP
• Magic rally from 21 down to stun Nets – Larry Fleisher – Reuters
• Nets blow 21-point lead to Magic despite vintage Cam Thomas performance in loss – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Nets blow 21-point lead in 102-101 loss to Magic – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News