Long Island goes over .500 in big win for their playoff chances
The Long Island Nets returned to American soil Tuesday night for the first time in a week following their final Les Nets jaunt to Montreal, hoping they can make a final post-season push, It was a must-win game for both teams who entered the night in Oskhosh with identical 14-14 records. Ultimately, the Nets G League affiliate beat the Bucks affiliate following a hard-fought game, 101-97. It moved Long Island to within a game and a half of the sixth and final spot in the post-season with five to play.
In helping their affiliate’s playoff push, the Brooklyn Nets equipped Long Island with all three of their two-ways — Tosan Evbuoumwan, Reece Beekman and Tyson Etienne — as well as keeping Dariq Whitehead on G League assignment. Killian Hayes was also wearing red-and-blue Tuesday following his 10-day at Barclays Center. But it was Drew Timme, the 6’10” 24-year-old, who played the biggest role.
Timme, acquired in a mid-season trade, continued to be one of the team’s biggest stars and most clutch players. Timme had another big showing, finishing with a double-double: 27 points and a career-high in rebounds with 17. It was the 16th double-double in 24 games for the three-time Gonzaga All-American.
Rebounding had been Long Island’s weak suit until Timme showed up. The Texas native has made Long Island a much more physical team in his 26 games.
From one impressive showing to another. Hayes continued to remind teams why he should be back in the NBA. While he didn’t score 38 points as he did on Friday night, he picked up 18, which was second on the team and flirted with a triple-double as he picked up seven rebounds and seven assists.
Perhaps Hayes’ best play came at the end of the game with Long Island up by one and under 10 seconds left. Hayes hit a clutch three-pointer to give Long Island the four-point lead. This shot put the game away for Wisconsin and single-handedly earned Long Island the big win. Hayes is now shooting 36.9% from deep in G League action after putting 38.1% with Brooklyn.
Whitehead and Etienne finished with 16 points each while Tosan Evbuomwan scored 12. However, Beekman only was able to connect on one of his six shot attempts, finishing the game with just two points.
Despite walking away with a win on Tuesday night, this was far from Long Island’s best shooting game. Overall, Long Island connected on 35 of its 91 shot attempts, including hitting only 10-of-34 from beyond the arc. These numbers greatly improved in the second half as the first was one Long Island would like to forget.
Long Island only connected on 18 of their first 51 shot attempts including hitting just four of their 16 from deep. Nonetheless, Long Island walked away with the win and stood has a winning record, 15-14, as the season comes down to the wire.
The first quarter was a very back-and-forth battle between the two teams which ultimately saw Long Island take a seven-point lead into the second. Long Island was outscored, 28-19 in the second quarter, but somehow only entered the half down by two. With a full half left, the game was far from over.
In the third, Long Island had a much better shooting performance. They were able to outscore Wisconsin, 28-24. Long Island took a 78-76 lead into the final quarter of play. The fourth was a close one to the very end. Long Island outscored Wisconsin, 23-21, to win the game with a four-point lead.
Next Up
The Long Island Nets (15-14) continue their playoff push as they stay in Wisconsin to take on the Wisconsin Herd (14-15) again on Thursday night. It’s another must-win game for both teams. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be watched on ESPN+.