Long Island Nets fall to Delaware Blue Coats, 132-129, as A.J. Lawson scores 35

The former Maverick put up his second 30 piece of the season Wednesday night but the Long Island Nets lost their fifth straight.

As the losses continue to pile up, the Long Island Nets look much better than they did on Saturday night, but not good enough to register their third win of the season

Long Island Nets got back on the court at Nassau Coliseum Wednesday night, playing the Delaware Blue Coats. Unfortunately, their return home was not enough to get them back in the win column as they dropped the game, 132-129. The Nets G League affiliate is now 2-8 and has lost five straight, Only the Wisconsin Herd (1-8), the Bucks affiliate, has been worse.

Despite the loss, this was the best Long Island has looked in at least four games. I’d even argue this could have been the best Long Island looked all season, except for the first game.

And there were positives on the development side of the ledger as well, with five Nets finishing with double doubles.

Even in defeat, this very well could have been Long Island’s best game of the season, at least offensively. In addition to the five Nets who scored in the double digits, four scored over 20 and three recorded double-doubles in the loss. AJ Lawson led the team in scoring with 35 points in 41 minutes, playing one of his best all-around games of the season. Lawson also wound up with 10 rebounds, six assists, and a steal.

For the season, the 24-year-old Canadian shooting guard is averaging a team-high 23.3 for the season but Lawson has been inconsistent from deep, hitting only 30.3% from beyond the arc. So his 5-of-9 shooting display vs. Delaware had to be encouraging.

Right behind Lawson came Amari Bailey, who started his first game for Long Island. After being one of the best bench players in the NBA, Bailey showed that he can also provide valuable minutes as a starter. He finished second on the team in scoring with 26 points and picked up 13 assists, and seven rebounds.

Former Indiana Pacer Kendall Brown, a 6’7” 21-year-old shooting guard, finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Tyson Etienne, a 6’2” 25-year-old point guard, also had an excellent showing, picking up 24 points, eight assists, and two rebounds.

A big positive that came out of this game as well, re-emergence of Patrick Gardner, the team’s 6’11” center. Gardner, who has had a pretty lackluster season, finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and one steal. Second to only Lawson and Brown in rebounding, Gardner was a force in the paint as well, making tough shots while driving to the hoop in traffic.

He also got some help this week when Long Island signed another near 7-footer, Nate Roberts. Joining the club on Tuesday, the 6’11” 240-pound Roberts played 11 minutes and did not score, but made his significant presence felt in other ways. particularly in blocking out the Blue Coat bigs. At one point, he even blocked out two opponents, one with each arm, allowing Brown to get the rebound. Long Island, who before Roberts arrival had only one roster player taller than 6’8”, finished with 38 rebounds, tied with Delaware. They had been getting outrebounded by double digits. Earlier in the week, the Greensboro Swarm out-rebound them 49-31.

Long Island played arguably their best first quarter since their losing streak started. They kept it close and played great offensively. Heading into the second, Long Island trailed Delaware 29-24. Delaware was able to pull away a bit more in the second, but Long Island went into halftime down by eight.

In the third quarter, Long Island kicked it into high gear. They went off from deep and got the game to within three by the time the fourth quarter came. Despite Long Island coming very close with a valiant effort late in the fourth, they eventually fell 132-129.

Long Island’s downfall came in the fouling department. Long Island finished with 31 personal fouls, while Delaware was called for 19. There were some questionable calls tonight that got both benches and both coaches riled up. Delaware made 20 shots from the line to 11 for Long Island. Overall, though, the Nets shot it well, finishing with shooting splits of 53/52/79.

Happy for Dariq

There were a lot of smiles around the building when players and coaches discussed Dariq Whitehead’s big game with the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. Whitehead who scored 18 points, his career high, vs. Chicago, credited his recent play with Long Island, and specifically his 26-point game vs. the Raptors 905 last week as a big confidence builder. It was his best scoring game since he scored 26 in an AAU championship game between his junior and senior years in high school.

Shawn Swords, Long Island’s associate head coach, told NetsDaily that while he was impressed with Whitehead’s shooting, he’s seen him hit shots on Long Island. What he liked more was the 20-year-old’s defense at the NBA level..

“I think he did some good things and in the NBA where he hadn’t shown that yet,” said Swords filling in head coach Mfon Udofia, out for personal reasons. “And quite frankly, things that he hadn’t shown in the G League until the game before against the Raptors.

“It was nice to see him make shots, but what I was more happy with — pleased with — was there were bursts of good defense where he picked up full court and was trying to get after it with the ball, which is what Brooklyn is preaching. I think I was more impressed with that.”.

Ultimately, this was a game that featured a lot of positives despite the scoreboard showing otherwise. The main story is about the development of the potential Guys like Amari Bailey, AJ Lawson, Kendall Brown, and more could easily see time in the NBA at some point, particularly if Brooklyn trades some of veterans.

Next Up

Long Island (2-8) stays home for their next game on Friday, December 6th, when they once again match up with the Delaware Blue Coats. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET, and can be watched on the Long Island Nets and NBA G-League websites. It can also be viewed on the YES App.

• Boxscore: Delaware Blue Coats 132, Long Island Nets 129 – G League