Long Island Nets fall to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, 98-96, on buzzer-beater

All three of their two-ways and mainstay Dariq Whitehead in Brooklyn bolstering the big club’s injury-riddled lineup, Long Island looked good till the very end. Then came heartbreak.

The Long Island Nets returned to the Nassau Coliseum Monday to face the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Long Island’s first home game since early December. Despite playing a very competitive game until the very end, the Nets fell to the Heat affiliate, 98-96, off a last-second three-pointer.

Still, there’s progress. A little more than two weeks ago, Long Island lost by 48. Since then, GM Matt MacDonald has rebuilt the roster and the break between the 16-game Tip-Off Tournament and the 34-game Regular season has given the Nets a re-set.

The starting five had another impressive game, doing it without two-ways Tosan Evbuomwan, Reece Beekman and Tyrese Martin. The trio was with the Brooklyn Nets in the borough. In addition, before the game, Dariq Whitehead was called back to Brooklyn, which meant that Long Island would be without some of its best players.

Of course, this opened a brand new door of opportunities for other players to step up. Next man up, it was. The starters once again had a very impressive game, with all but one reaching double-digits in points. Kendall Brown, a 6’7” 21-year-old wing led the charge with 21 points, playing arguably one of his best games of the regular season.

Along with his 21 points, which led the team, Brown picked up two rebounds, and one assist. He was also a menace on the ball, finishing the game with three steals.

Drew Timme played another solid game tonight, finishing with 20 points, second on the team to Brown. This was Timme’s third straight game scoring over 20 points, hitting the 20-point mark in every game as a Long Island Net so far. Timme connected on eight of his 15 shots. He also picked up six rebounds, four assists, and one steal. He even added to his impressive stat sheet with one blocked shot.

Killian Hayes was third on the team in scoring, finishing with 17 points. But don’t let this fool you, this was far from Hayes’ best game shooting. He was only able to connect on eight out of his 24 shot attempts, leaving a lot of points on the board. He also only hit one of his five attempts from beyond the arc. Hayes was one of the team’s top rebounders with eight and picked up five assists, which was tied for the team lead with Tyson Etienne.

Despite not providing much in the point category, Trevon Scott and Kevin Obanor each had impressive games on the boards, picking up 13 and 12 rebounds respectively. This was good enough for first and second on the team. As a whole, the Nets out-rebounded the Skyforce, 47-37.

In the first quarter, the Skyforce got off to a quick start, going on a 9-0 run. Long Island would battle back, trailing the Skyforce by six by the end of the first. Long Island only shot 29% this quarter, hitting eight out of their 27 shot attempts, missing all six from deep. Despite a better quarter in the second, the Skyforce took the 51-49 lead into the half.

Long Island turned it around in the third and even managed to pick up the lead, finishing the third leading by three. This fourth quarter was a back-and-forth by both teams with the final dagger coming from Malik Williams landing the three-pointer that put Long Island away. Hayes missed both of the free throws while Long Island had the 96-95 lead with under ten seconds left in the game.

Drew Timme Wants An Opportunity

The result of a three-team trade that sent Amari Bailey to the Iowa Wolves, the Long Island Nets found their new big man in Drew Timme. The 6’10” three-time All-American from Gonzaga standout made a name for himself at the collegiate level, and now he gets to showcase his skills in the NBA G-League with Long Island as he told NetsDaily in an exclusive interview.

One of the most important things Timme said he wants is an opportunity after two G League gigs with the Wisconsin Herd and now Long Island. He made that very clear to ND when we had the chance to speak with him following Long Island’s 98-96 loss. “It’s great,” says Timme when asked about coming to Long Island.

“To find a place where you’re given an opportunity and able to show what you have is exactly what I wanted, and when this trade went through I couldn’t be more happy to be here.”

So far so good for the 24-year-old. In his first three games for the Nets affiliate, he’s averaging 22.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

Around the time Long Island landed Timme, they also traded away their only big man, Patrick Gardner to the Osceola Magic for another new acquisition, Trevon Scott. Gardner was Long Island’s only player above 6’8”. Timme was awarded the Karl Malone award, given to the best power forward in college basketball while at Gonzaga…

“The thing about this league is that it’s all about opportunity and making the most of it when you get it,” says Timme. “Coming here, the coach told me what he needed and told me to be me. I’m trying to do that to the best of my ability and I’m so grateful for this opportunity here.”

The turnover for Long Island has been dramatic. After A.J. Lawson was signed to a two-way by the Toronto Raptors and Jacky Cui suffered a season-ending injury, Long Island has acquired Timme, Tre Scott, a G league veteran big, Tosan Evbuomwan and Reece Beekman, the latter two two-ways.

They also re-signed Terry Roberts, the 6’3” combo guard whose second and almost his life cut short when he was shot outside a Philadelphia club after helping a friend move. Udofia had this to say about Roberts tonight…

“Everybody knows his situation,” said Udofia before the game. “And he’s super grateful and thankful to be back. and delighted to be playing basketball again.”

Next Up

Following this heartbreaking loss, the Long Island Nets (1-2) look to get back in the win column tomorrow night when they face off with the Birmingham Squadron on Tuesday night, January 7th. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be watched on ESPN+, the YES App, or live at the Nassau Coliseum.

• Boxscore: Sioux Falls Skyforce 98, Long Island Nets 96 – G League
• Skyforce Takes Fourth Straight Road Victory on Williams’ Game-Winner – G League