Spencer Dinwiddie leads the Nets with 24 points and hits a milestone, as does Garrett Temple and Jarrett Allen

No Magic, Just Defense.

If there was ever a game presenting a tale of two halves, last night’s game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Orlando Magic is its representation. The Nets led the Magic by 19 points (67-48) at 8:58 in the third quarter. How do you have that much of a cushion and allow the opposing team to creep, creep, creep, take over and you lose by two points? That’s exactly what happened at the Barclays Center last night, the Nets went from a 19-point lead to lose to the Orlando Magic by two points 115-113. The Nets, still holding on to the seventh seed in the NBA playoffs standing, fell to 26-30 with the loss to the Magic. Meanwhile, the Magic in the eighth spot in the playoff standing, inched ever so close to taking over the seventh spot, improved to 25-32 with the victory.

Coach Speak: Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson on the second half and the Magic’s adjustments:

“We gave up 74 points,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson told the media. “I think that’s the story there. (The) defense was fantastic in the first half, second half we let down defensively. I think it obviously got loose there, that kind of got them going. (Aaron) Gordon made some big shots too. At the end of the day, good credit to that. They deserved to win. They kind of overran us in the second half. We could never really get stops against 74 points. That’s astronomical, it’s tough to win a game like that.”

You can always count on Coach Atkinson to give the other team credit when credit is due.

BY THE NUMBERS:

On the positive side, Brooklyn outrebounded Orlando 49-41 (+8), including a 13-7 (+6) edge on the offensive glass.

The Nets also outscored the Magic 16-8 in second-chance points and 11-5 in fast breakpoints.

The Orlando Magic field goal percentage was 49.4 percent (44-of-89), while the Brooklyn Nets shot 47.9 percent (46-of-96). The Nets took seven more shots, but not enough cigars.

The Nets did outscore the Magic from behind the arc. The Nets hit 43.2 percent (16-of-37) of its shots from three-point land versus the Magic’s 38.2 percent (13-of-34).

But when it came to points at the stripe, the Nets barely made it to the free-throw line, hitting 62.5 percent (5-of-8) versus the Magic’s 82.4 percent (14 of 17).

The Nets led the Magic 27-22 at the end of the first quarter last night and had the lead over Orlando 54-41 at halftime. But the tale of the second half, tells the story. The Orlando Magic outscored the Brooklyn Nets 74-59 in the second half.

Why do the Brooklyn Nets at times have difficulty holding leads?

“It’s the NBA,” responded Coach Atkinson. “Lead’s never safe. You’re up 20, you don’t feel comfortable. So, like I said, that’s why I was so happy about the Charlotte game. Tonight, we didn’t do it. They got back in it and then they got their rhythm and then we could not get stops. We tried some different things; we tried some zone. But again, you’ve got to give them credit. They just simply overran us in that second half.”

Brooklyn Nets Scoring Leaders

Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets against the Orlando Magic last night with 24 points and eight assists in 34 minutes. Caris LeVert recorded 19 points, five rebounds, and a season-high-tying eight assists in 34 minutes; Garrett Temple scored 18 points and five assists off the bench in 28 minutes; Jarrett Allen registered his 25th double-double of the season with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, along with three assists and two blocks in 26 minutes; Joe Harris posted 12 points and six boards in 30 minutes, and; Taurean Prince chipped in 10 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes.

For the Orlando Magic, Aaron Gordon, who got barely any rest, led all scorers with 27 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots in 41 minutes; Evan Fournier recorded 21 points and four assists in 31 minutes; Terrence Ross came off the bench and matched Fournier’s point total with 21 points, but Ross added eight rebounds to his total in 28 minutes; Nikola Vucevic posted 16 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in 34 minutes, and; James Ennis III chipped in 13 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes.

Coach Speak: Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford on what turned the game around for the Magic in the third quarter:

In two words said Coach Clifford, “Terrence Ross”. “He just got going. I think he was 8-for-9 in the second half, and you guys have seen him. He’s done it so many times. He gets on a streak like that. And then Aaron Gordon also played huge minutes and made a ton of big plays at both ends of the floor. We struggled to guard them. We were better in the second half, but obviously we made a bunch of shots.”

And, Spencer Dinwiddie co-signed on Coach Clifford’s analysis of what opened the door for the Magic to get back in the game.

“Defense,” said Dinwiddie. “They had 74 points in the second half. (Terrence) Ross made a ton of plays during their run and obviously (Aaron) Gordon had a big three. If we do our job defensively then we’re not in that situation.”

What’s Next for the Orlando Magic and the Brooklyn Nets?

The Orlando Magic will head to Atlanta to face the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, February 26, 2020, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

As for the Brooklyn Nets, they will board a plane for a four-game road trip. The Nets will travel to Washington to play the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, February 26, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Then, on Friday, February 28, 2020, the Nets will be in Atlanta to play the Atlanta Hawks. The Nets will travel further south to Miami to take on the Miami Heat in a back-to-back on Saturday, February 29, 2020, at 7:30 p.m. The Brooklyn Nets will get three days rest before taking on the Boston Celtics in Boston on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. And on the very next day, Wednesday, March 4, 2020, the Nets will finally return home to Brooklyn to play the Memphis Grizzlies at the Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m.

TIP-INS:

Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie’s first basket in last night’s game against the Orlando Magic gave him 1,145 points for the season, marking a new single-season career-high. Dinwiddie tallied his previous career-high of 1,143 points last season.

Dinwiddie has now recorded a team-leading 34 games with 20-plus points this season after notching 18 games with 20-plus points all of last season.

Brooklyn Nets guard Garrett Temple posted 18 points last night just one game after recording 15 points and 11 boards (his first-career double-double) on Saturday at Charlotte. This is the first time this season that Temple has tallied 15-plus points in consecutive games, and he's reached double digits in four of his last five contests.

Jarrett Allen’s 25 double-doubles this season surpasses his previous single-season career-high of 24 (done last season). The only player in the league 21 years-old or younger with more double-doubles this season is Luka Doncic (30 entering tonight’s games).

Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell were game scoring leaders for the Brooklyn Nets, perhaps, putting to rest that the two can’t be on the floor together

The Brooklyn Nets added another win to its list last night by beating the Orlando Magic 114-110. There was no scenario where it looked like it would be a blow-out on either side. The game was close all the way, just a back and forth, one team up, one team down, with the Nets pulling it out at the end.

“First of all, like I keep saying, I think they’re a really good team,” Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said about the Orlando Magic postgame. “It’s a struggle to beat them. They have really good players. Nip and tuck, back and forth, we made mistakes and they made mistakes. I don’t think it was a perfectly played game by any means, especially on our part. I thought we were so-so overall. That’s a sign of a good team, to pull it out when you’re not at your top level.”

The Nets improved to 26-23 overall and 14-11 at Barclays Center with last night’s win against the Magic. Meanwhile, the Magic fell to 20-28 overall and 8-15 on the road with the loss. Additionally, the Nets have won five straight games, seven-straight at home, and 11 of their last 12 at Barclays Center with last night’s victory. And, if you’re wondering if the Nets are still in the NBA playoff hunt, yes, they are holding on to the sixth spot in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, if the NBA Playoffs were held today.

For the Brooklyn Nets, Spencer Dinwiddie led all players with a game-high 29 points (10-of-17 FG) with three rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 30 minutes off the bench. Meanwhile, D’Angelo Russell led all Nets starters with 25 points, a game-high 10 assists, seven rebounds, and two steals in 34 minutes.

Earlier in the season, there was some chatter that Dinwiddie and Russell couldn’t co-exist on the floor together, but with the passage of time, things are looking better for this duo.

“I see more as they are meshing,” Atkinson said about their progress. “More and more every time. I know advanced stuff says they don’t play well together, but they’re going to be in at the end of the game. They’re two of our top players. Having multiple ball handlers like that is huge. They really know how to play off of each other now. Especially the plays we run at the end of the game, they’re looking out for each other. D’Angelo called a play for Spencer with under two minutes there. It was a big play. That’s the kind of altruism we have right now. Guys are really playing for each other.”

D'Angelo Russell also commented on the chemistry between him and Spencer Dinwiddie, “I just think when we’re both aggressive it works out best for us. Like I said, as we’re getting games under our belts. I think we’re realizing how to play off each other and be aggressive and kind of playmaking and make things happen every time we get the ball.”

As for the other Nets players making it happen when they got the ball, DeMarre Carroll recorded 19 points (6-of-13 FG) and four rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench for the Nets. Rodions Kurucs, a starter for the Nets and an NBA rookie, posted 13 points, four rebounds, one steal and one block in 22 minutes. Joe Harris also scored 13 points and four rebounds, and; Jarrett Allen registered a team-high 11 rebounds with six points and two assists in 29 minutes.

Leading starting scorers for the Orlando Magic were, Nikola Vucevic, who scored 21 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and four blocked shots; D.J. Augustin registered 19 points, six assists, three rebounds, and two steals; Jonathan Isaac tallied 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three blocked shots, and; Aaron Gordon added 10 points and six rebounds.

Jonathon Simmons came off the bench for the Orlando Magic and chipped in 13 points and three assists.

Next up: the Orlando Magic head home to play the Washington Wizards on Friday, January 25, 2019. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets will also be at home to host the New York Knicks at Barclays Center also on Friday, January 25, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Brooklyn Nets Defeat Orlando Magic 98-95, on the second night of a back-to-back; Caris LeVert comes up big with 15 hustle points, 8 Assists, five rebounds

Tonight the Brooklyn Nets met up with the Orlando Magic for the third time this season and for their second meeting at the Barclays Center this season. With a team effort, the Nets did not disappoint the hometown fans. Starting the New Year on a good note, the Nets held Orlando to under 100 points and came up victorious 98-95.

What is significant about this win is that it is the second night of a back-to-back, something that this team hasn’t had much success with and tonight’s accomplishment wasn’t lost on Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.

“It was a good, great way to come back from last night,” Atkinson said. “We played Boston tough and this is a talented team, especially with Aaron Gordon back, so great job by our guys. Great resiliency, we weren’t great offensively but we did it with our defense. I thought we got some real big 50-50 balls and rebounds. Allen Crabbe gets the block at the end of the game, so a lot of guys contributed. Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson), I thought was really good, made some big plays and free throws. A really good team win.”

Crabbe’s block at the end of the game and his career-high total of three blocks for tonight didn’t go unnoticed by the media. When asked about tonight’s block stat, Crabbe told the media, "I'm low key tired of hearing people trying to question my defense.”

Okay, we hear you.

In addition to showing off his defensive chops with three blocks, Crabbe also scored 15 points and eight rebounds.

Brooklyn Nets rookie center Jarrett Allen is blossoming right before our eyes. He led the Nets in scoring tonight with a career-high 16 points. He also added eight rebounds and two blocks.

Caris LeVert scored 15 points, eight assists, and five rebounds for the Nets. LeVert has also registered seven or more assists in each of his last four games, becoming just the second Net since the 1983-84 season to record seven or more assists in four straight games off the bench.

LeVert and Allen are emerging as a dynamic duo. When they are both on the floor, LeVert will find Allen because he knows that unlike a lot of big men, Allen keeps his eye on the ball. To his credit, with just two months of NBA playing time, Allen is being recognized as a “catching and going” type of big man. And, LeVert is not too shabby either as he’s tough to defend with his great on-the-court decision-making.

Regarding his chemistry with LeVert, Allen said, “I don’t know where it came from, but it’s just been there since we started playing together. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

DeMarre Carroll scored a double-double adding 14 points and 10 rebounds, this is Carroll’s fourth double-double of the season, and; Rondae Hollis-Jefferson chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds for the Nets.

Orlando had five players in double digits. Aaron Gordon led all players with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Elfrid Payton added 17 points and seven assists. Bismack Biyombo scored a double-double with 13 points and 17 rebounds. Also scoring 13 points for Orlando was Evan Fournier, and; Jonathan Simmons chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.

Next up, the Brooklyn Nets meet the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, January 3, 2018, at the Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. According to Atkinson, Nets recent addition from the Philadelphia 76ers, Jahlil Okafor, could make his debut at home for the Nets on Wednesday.

“He’s close. I’d expect to see him against Minnesota,” Atkinson told the media. “I think we’ll start to get him some minutes. He’s been doing a phenomenal job getting ready physically with our assistant coaches learning what we’re doing. Collectively we feel like he’s ready to get some minutes.”

Brook Lopez, Trevor Booker, and the Nets bench had a huge night

The Brooklyn Nets are now officially on their “glow-up” tour, as they beat the Orlando Magic 121-111 at the Barclays Center on Saturday evening.

The Nets have now won three of their last four home games. There is a lot to like about how the Nets are playing lately and specifically how the team played against the Magic. The Nets scored a season-high 72 points in the paint, outscoring the Magic 72-32 in the painted area. Hello!

“Brook is really hard to guard down there,” Jeremy Lin said. “We keep trying to find ways to exploit the defense with his size and his touch. I think he’s finding a great balance inside and outside. I felt like he really made his presence known tonight.”

“I thought we were very unselfish today and we got back to moving the ball – that’s the first thing J-Lin (Jeremy Lin) brought out, coming out into the start of the game,” Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez said about what got the offense clicking in tonight’s game.

“I thought we moved the ball very well. Honestly, for me, I thought the bench did such great job tonight. They came in and picked us up in the second and again in the third. They were just spectacular out there and they were the difference tonight,” Lopez continued.

Yep, the Brooklyn Nets’ bench did show out tonight. The Nets’ reserves outscored the Magic’s reserves 72-16. And this was not a fluke, as the Nets’ bench outscored Phoenix’s bench on March 23 with a season-high 81 points and back in January against New Orleans with 73 points.

Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson liked how his bench played in big spots.

“Similar how teams have done to us, we started to pick them up, we started denying some passes, we got into the ball,” Atkinson said. “It was an overall energy, a youthful energy. Isaiah (Whitehead) I thought was really good, Archie (Goodwin) gives us a big boost with his athleticism and how fast he is and he did a good job defensively…then (Trevor) Booker was really good on both ends.”

Lopez was overjoyed about the Nets reserves.

“It was fun to watch honestly,” Lopez said. “They did it tonight for us – no question. Again, it was just great to see that energy on the floor and our guys were so excited for them on the bench.”

At the end of the day, the game’s outcome is what really matters. However, in the first few minutes, one could not tell that Brooklyn would have such a great night. Orlando came out the gate strong scoring nine points to Brooklyn’s two in less than 3 minutes. However, like a ship in rough seas, the team got righted; Lopez scored 12 points in under 8 minutes during the first quarter. A Booker jump shot at 2:48 in the first, gave the Nets its first lead, 27-26. A back and forth ensued and a Sean Kilpatrick jump shot with less than 11 seconds to go helped the Nets to end the first quarter tied at 33-33.

Brooklyn ended the second quarter 60-53 over Orlando; and then, it was all even 89-89 at the end of the third.

And then came the fourth quarter when the Nets went on an 11-0 run and the Magic, without an answer, could not get over the hump. The Nets’ bench took over offensively and defensively.

Off the bench, Spencer Dinwiddie and Booker helped to break open a big lead for the Nets in the fourth, which did not go unnoticed by Atkinson.

“Yeah, that kind of broke it open,” Atkinson stated. “I thought Spencer made some big plays; he was really good in the pick and roll. His size, he gets in the paint and he’s a tough guy to deal with. Trevor in the pick and roll, in transition, just making the simple play, that was where we were able to break it open a little bit.”

And the performance of the Nets’ bench was certainly on the radar of the Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel.

“I think Brooklyn’s bench came in and took over the game during that stretch to start the fourth quarter to build a big lead,” Vogel said. “I credit their bench.”

“We just really drove the ball well, Atkinson said about the Nets’ overall play. I felt like we were very aggressive to the rim. In transition we got out and got some easy ones, we were really driving it and finishing at a better rate. We didn’t shoot it well from the perimeter, but I thought we got a lot of open looks. But I was pleased with our defense too for the most part. The first quarter wasn’t great, third quarter they got going. (Nikola) Vučević got going. The difference in the game was probably the bench, though. At the end of the day, I thought they really brought great energy, picked up our defense, did a great job of playing together.”

For the win, Lopez scored a game-high 30 points; Booker had a season-high 23 points, he also added eight rebounds; Kilpatrick contributed 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists, Justin Hamilton chipped in 13 points and five rebounds.

To the Magic’s credit, four of its five starters scored over 20 points: Vučević had a team-high 27 points and 11 rebounds and Aaron Gordon scored 22 points and 15 rebounds. Although both Evan Fournier and Elfrid Payton each had 20 points, Payton had a triple double with 11 rebounds and 11 assists to his tally, which was overshadowed by the Magic’s loss.

The Magic’s loss is the Nets’ gain and Lopez speaking for the team is excited that the hard work, the grinding it out, and staying focus through the losses was very important to getting them on the winning track.

“It was very important, very big,” Lopez said. “We just continually talked about no slippage until the very end of the season – until whatever day, April 12, 15, whatever it is, I’m not exactly sure – but we want to continue to improve, and take every opportunity we can to get better as a team.”

The Nets will be back at it tomorrow for a home back-to-back, as they face the playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks at 6:00 p.m.