Just like the big club, the Long Island Nets have been hobbled by injuries and they got clobbered, also like the big club.
The Long Island Nets returned to the court on Saturday afternoon for a matinee game with the Motor City Cruise. Long Island had traveled to Detroit looking for a win. Instead, this would be another game they’d like to forget as they fell to the Cruse, 145-132.
The Long Island Nets were once again without their three two-way players, who are still with the big club in Houston for tonight’s game against the Rockets. They were also still without Killian Hayes, who’s been ill, Oshae Brissett, who’s dealing with hamstring soreness, and now Dariq Whitehead, who was also out with an illness.
With all those injuries, it’s time for players who wouldn’t normally be big impacts to step up. Despite the loss, that is what we saw Saturday night. Tyson Etienne, a 6’2” 25-year-old combo guard, led the team in scoring, picking up a career-high in points with 43. Etienne connected on 14 of his 24 shots, including making five out of his seven attempts from deep.
Etienne also picked up seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. This was certainly Etienne’s best game as a Long Island Net, and could have even been his best game in the NBA G-League for the now four years he’s been a part of it.
Another unlikely player we saw step up while coming off the bench for Long Island was Mark Armstrong. Since returning from injury, the 6’2” 20-year-old Armstrong hasn’t done too much on the stat sheet. Then Saturday, Armstrong played his best game as a Long Island Net this afternoon, finished with 24 points, behind only Etienne.
Armstrong, a Villanova product, connected on six of his 15 shots, including going two for five from deep. But he was also lights out from the free-throw line, picking up from the line on all five of his attempts. Armstrong also finished with two rebounds, and five assists.
Drew Timme had a pretty lackluster game … at least by his standards. Timme, a 6’10” 24-year-old, has been a double-double machine as of late. He finished one with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. While the points have stayed consistent, Timme’s rebounding game has been less so.
Do you know who’s rebounding game was there? Trevon Scott. The 6’8” 28-year-old finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and two assists. He picked up another double-double. Kendall Brown had, for a him, a tough night, hitting on only 5-of-14 shots. He’s shooting over 60% on the season. Despite that, Brown contributed in other ways. The 6’8” 21-year-old wing had eight boards, four assists and three steals while turning the ball over once.
The big problem was defense, letting the Cruise finish with shooting splits of 60/47/71 on the afternoon.
The first quarter of the game saw Long Island go down by 16 points rather quickly, ultimately giving up 43 points in the first quarter. Despite fighting back, Long Island still entered the second down by 15. By the time halftime rolled around, Long Island was able to close the gap, trailing by only five points.
The third quarter saw Motor City once again extend their lead, this time taking a 20-point lead into the fourth and final quarter of play. Despite trying to make it a game and getting it down to a single digit deficit late, Long Island still lost this game by 13 points.
Final Score: Motor City Cruise 145, Long Island Nets 132.
Next Up
The Long Island Nets (6-7) look to get back in the win column as they come home on Monday night to face the Birmingham Squadron. Hopefully, Long Island will get some of their team back over the weekend, as they look to stay at .500. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be watched on the YES App, NBA G-League, and Long Island Nets’ respective websites.