The Nets came into Saturday (all time in the US) wondering how to get Ben Simmons to play well alongside another non-shooter.
Now they’re just wondering how to keep him playing.
The oft-injured Simmons, the only All-Star on Brooklyn’s roster, went down again. This time, he was forced to abandon its 101-86 loss to Minnesota in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,024 at Target Center due to a leg injury.
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Simmons has only played 55 games for the Nets since being acquired at the 2022 trade deadline over former MVP James Harden. Most of that missed time is due to a herniated disc and leg injuries brought on by the aforementioned back issues.
Now Brooklyn’s starting point guard has another problem, forced to leave the game with left leg soreness with 8:04 remaining in the third quarter.
He was banned for the rest of the evening.
When Simmons left, Brooklyn trailed 53-51 and quickly tied the score on a Nic Claxton alley oop from his replacement, Dennis Schroder.
The Nets — who bounced back nicely from a dismal loss Thursday at Toronto in Kevin Ollie’s interim debut — led 72-70 on a short Cam Thomas jumper with 9:28 left.
But that’s when Minnesota finally pulled away.
Brooklyn coughed up a 19-6 run and never contested after that.
New Jersey native Kyle Anderson put the Timberwolves ahead 89-78, and the game was all but over.
There was some added spice with Schroder fouling Mike Conley on a 3-point attempt in the final seconds of garbage time, and getting pushed by Nickeil Alexander-Walker to prompt a review of the altercation.
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Four technical fouls were imposed. And nothing mattered.
Brioklyn fell to 21-35.
Karl Anthony-Towns, another New Jersey player, had a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota.
Anthony Edwards added 26 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played without center Rudy Gobert.
Turns out they didn’t need their defensive shot blocker.
Cam Thomas led the Nets with a modest 18 points and six rebounds, while Mikal Bridges added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Brooklyn shot just 34.0 percent and was an incredibly poor 6 of 35 from 3-point range.
Coming in, putting Simmons on the floor with another non-shooter had been their concern. Now they have bigger problems.
Jacque Vaughn, fired, never really found the ideal way to compensate for Simmons’ lack of jumper.
“Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to get across to him, and I think he’s capable of doing it,” Ollie said. “And when we find ourselves in half-court situations, it will be crucial to make him play with pace and have the right spacing around him. But when he sees this gap, he must close it. I think he will do that.
“Yeah, that’s what we’re trying to get across to him, and I think he’s capable of doing it,” Ollie said. “And when we find ourselves in half-court situations, it will be crucial to make him play with pace and have the right spacing around him. But when he sees this gap, he must close it. I think he will do that.
-This story was originally published in the New York Post and reproduced with permission.
BANCHERO RAISES THE MAGIC AND RIPS AFTER THE MATCH
Paolo Banchero’s three-point play with 0.1 seconds remaining gave the Orlando Magic a 112-109 victory in Detroit. Banchero sank the game-winning jumper while fouled and added the free throw for a dramatic triumph.
“It was important,” Banchero said through tears about his final shot. “It was a difficult match and I was ill. I feel very bad. I just give credit to my teammates. They supported me throughout the match.
“I don’t know why I’m crying. It was a difficult match. I am proud of my team. Banchero’s 15 points led eight scorers in double figures for
Orlando, which improved to 32-25, tied with Indiana for sixth in the East.
The Pistons, led by Cade Cunningham’s 26 points, fell to an NBA-worst 8-48 with a fifth straight loss.
Franz Wagner’s free throw gave Orlando a 109-105 lead with 96 seconds remaining. Cunningham responded with a jumper and a layup to
Detroit, the latter pulling the Pistons level at 109-109 with 12 seconds remaining, paving the way for Banchero’s exploits.
CELTICS DOWN KNICKS, EXTEND WINNING STRING TO EIGHT
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 22 as the Boston Celtics extended their NBA winning streak to eight games on Saturday by beating New York 116-102.
The Celtics improved their NBA record to 45-12 and extended their winning streak to a season high while extending their Eastern Conference lead over second-place Cleveland to eight games.
Jayson Tatum added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists as Boston had six double-digit scorers.
“We have so many good players on our team,” Tatum said. “We always talk about respecting each other’s space. It’s about understanding that it’s a rhythm game. It will eventually come back to you.
Tatum says players are taking a long-term approach, keeping in mind that the overall goal is an NBA title in June.
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“We have a really good team and we understand the big goal, what we’re really trying to accomplish, so every night we try to share the love, play the right way and make sure we win the most often.” Tatum said.
Jalen Brunson had a game-high 34 points and nine assists to lead the Knicks, who fell to 34-23.
Porzingis, who began his NBA career with the Knicks in 2015, made two 3-pointers and Brown scored five points in a 17-5 Boston run in the third quarter that gave the Celtics their largest lead at that time, 84-71. to a 97-84 lead after three quarters – with the Celtics hitting 68% of their shots from the floor early in the fourth quarter.
Boston held the Knicks scoreless for five minutes deep into the fourth quarter to help seal New York’s fate, with the Celtics increasing the lead to as many as 20 points.
ALL RESULTS
MAGIC 112 PISTONS 109
CELTICS 116 KNICKS 102
NETS 86 Timber wolves 101
