The Brooklyn Nets put on an offensive show yet cannot contain LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the end, falling by the final of 121-114.
- Brooklyn Nets 114 (23-51)
- Cleveland Cavaliers 121 (44-29)
- NBA, Final, Box Score
- Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
The Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers met this afternoon for the last time this season in Barclays Center for a close contest that went down to the wire. But four-time MVP LeBron James had different plans.
With under a minute remaining, LeBron nailed a step-back three from way outside to effectively seal the game, putting Cleveland up eight with only 39.1 seconds remaining. The final score of 121-114 doesn’t provide enough credit to how close the game was in the last two minutes.
Cleveland ended up benefitting from the win in a couple of ways. They increased their winning streak to five and also handed Brooklyn another loss, which helps the draft position of the Brooklyn pick which the Cavaliers control this offseason.
Final Stats ?
Joe Harris 30 pts / 7 reb@DeMarreCarroll1 18 pts / 5 reb / 5 ast@SDinwiddie_25 16 pts / 4 reb / 2 ast@IAmCHAP24 15 pts / 7 reb / 5 ast pic.twitter.com/CiqnA9eut9— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 25, 2018
It wasn’t all bad news for Brooklyn, though.
With a tighter rotation than usual, five of nine Nets scored over 12 points in the loss, powered by Joe Harris’ fantastic line of 30 points, seven rebounds and two assists, including 11-14 shooting from the floor and a scorching 6-7 from three. Harris continues to make a name for himself on this young Brooklyn team in his fourth NBA season. He also played solid defense against the fifth-best offense in the league.
.@_bigjayy_ makes it look SO EASY pic.twitter.com/iwJJitKDBA
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 25, 2018
.@Dloading gets us started from three ? pic.twitter.com/akNVi94WQe
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 25, 2018
Count it! pic.twitter.com/6laHrhCdXw
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 25, 2018
.@George_Hill3 with the #AssistOfTheNight! ?
?: @FOXSportsOH pic.twitter.com/oyHiHNYGjz
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 25, 2018
37 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists. And a dagger.
Casual Sunday for @KingJames.
?: @FOXSportsOH pic.twitter.com/cbwnoR7dBX
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) March 25, 2018
DeMarre Carroll stayed solid as well, contributing 18 points, five boards and five assists. Brooklyn stuck to its modus three-point shooting, connecting on 17 of 37 three point shots. They took nine more attempts than Cleveland, who also place enormous value on three-point offense.
However, LeBron was unstoppable.
James has been ruthless during the month of March. In 13 games, in which they are 8-5, he is posting 31.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 56.8 percent shooting from the field and 38.9 percent shooting from three. There is simply nothing a team can do when he is playing at this level.
He scored at the rim again and again, and threw down three monster alley-oops and a poster on Joe Harris. He finished with 37 points. Kevin Love scored 20 and Rodney Hood put in 16.
Allen Crabbe and Caris LeVert had rough games, going 5-18 combined from the floor and 1-8 from three. But the problem was once again the team defense. They gave up open looks all game and couldn’t stop the Cavaliers’ assault in the paint. Cleveland scored 43 percent of their points in the paint, compared to Brooklyn’s 33.3 percent. That’s a recipe for failure against a team that loves to attack.
Brooklyn has two days off until they face the Orlando Magic in the Amway Center. They should be rested and ready to go.
