The Brooklyn Nets (15-46) went into Miami on Tuesday hoping to notch their first win since returning from the All-Star break, especially with the Miami Heat (33-29) missing All-Star forward Norman Powell. Brooklyn even regained center Nic Claxton after he missed one game due to a right thumb sprain, but the Nets just couldn't get anything going on either end of the floor.
The Netslost to the Heat 124-98 thanks to their poor showing on both ends of the court combined with the fact that forward Michael Porter Jr. had arguably his worst game of the season. Porter finished the contest with nine points on 3-of-17 shooting from the field and 0-for-9 from three-point land in 27 minutes played against one of the best defenses in the league in Miami.
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Brooklyn wasn't too far behind Miami after trailing 34-28 heading into the second quarter, but the Heat opened up a 16-point lead in the second quarter and the Nets weren't able to recover in any significant capacity. The offensive end was a struggle for Brooklyn, but the defensive end was more of an issue as they allowed center Bam Adebayo to finish with 23 points, nine rebounds, and six steals.
The pace of the game was also an issue for the Nets as they fell behind in the fastbreak points battle 23-13 given how determined Miami was to get up and down the floor. Forward Noah Clowney had one of his better games in recent memory as he finished with 17 points and seven rebounds while forward Ziaire Williams came off the bench to post 16 points and two steals in 23 minutes.
In addition to Adebayo, the Nets also had issues defending guard Tyler Herro (22 points) and forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (20 points, four assists). Brooklyn will have another shot to beat the Heat in the last game of the season series on Thursday, but if they are going to upset Miami, they will have to be better on both ends of the floor against a playoff-level team in the Eastern Conference.
Here are the Nets player grades following Tuesday's loss at the Heat:
Nolan Traore: C-
Traore had a solid outing scoring as he seemed to be able to get to wherever he wanted on the floor and has gotten better at taking that short floater in the lane before the backline defender is able to close the gap and contest his shot. On the other side of that, Traore finished the game with zero assists and six turnovers, showing how much of an issue he had finding his teammates and taking care of the basketball.
Terance Mann: C
With rookie guard Egor Demin still out of the lineup for this one as the Nets continue to manage his left plantar fascia, Mann remained in the starting five and he had a decent performance. Mann wasn't particularly involved within the offensive flow, but he was efficient with his offensive touches. However, his defense was lacking throughout the game, especially on guys like Tyler Herro, for example.
Michael Porter Jr.: D
Porter had arguably his worst game of the season as he couldn't get anything to fall despite getting some solid looks from the perimeter over the course of his time on the floor. Porter finished this contest shooting 3-of-17 shooting from the field and 0-for-9 from three-point land, which is disappointing considering that he appeared to break his extended shooting slump over the past few games. Thursday's rematch at the Heat will be interesting for him.
Noah Clowney: B
Clowney was one of the best players that Brooklyn put on the floor in Miami and that was because of his aggressiveness driving to the basket, especially with the smaller Pelle Larsson guarding him. Clowney did most of his damage at the free-throw line (17 points while shooting 8-of-9 from the charity stripe), but he also spaced the floor well and constantly got involved in rebounding situations.
Nic Claxton: C-
Claxton returned to the starting lineup after missing Sunday's 106-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers with a right thumb sprain, but it seemed like there wasn't much he could do against Bam Adebayo. While Claxton wasn't the only player who guarded Adebayo over the course of the game, it became clear that Adebayo wasn't worried about Claxton at any point in the game and that could be an indictment on Claxton's defensive ability.
Ziaire Williams: C+
Williams was the second-leading scorer for the Nets once Tuesday's game against the Heat was over, but similar to Clowney, he also benefitted from getting to the free-throw line repeatedly. Williams shot the ball well from three-point range, but struggled with his shot overall and while he picked up two steals, Brooklyn struggled on the defensive end as a whole.
Josh Minott: D
Minott saw some playing time off the bench as head coach Jordi Fernandez was looking for a spark, but Minott wasn't able to give that on either end of the floor. Minott was solid in the rebounding phase of the game and had some good moments of being disruptive on the defensive end, but Tuesday was just a letdown across the board for the Nets.
Danny Wolf: B
Wolf's best stretch of play over the course of this season continued on Tuesday against the Heat as he had everything working for him once again, this time against one of the best defenses in the league. Wolf was able to get to the rim and do most of his damage that way while also setting up his teammates for some easy buckets without turning the ball over too much.
Day'Ron Sharpe: B+
Sharpe had a unique advantage against the Heat and that was his size and strength, especially when Adebayo was off the floor and Kel'el Ware was in the game. Sharpe seemingly couldn't miss once he got within range of the basket while also rebounding well like he normally does and giving his teammates some nice passes without turning the ball over even once.
Ben Saraf: C-
With Demin out of the rotation, Saraf was in line to see the backup point guard minutes once Nolan Traore stepped off the floor and did a solid job scoring the basketball. Despite the fact that Saraf was able to pick up some assists by setting up his teammates, he also had a incredible turnover problem, similar to Traore, in the face of dealing with Miami's intense perimeter defense.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades after 124-98 loss at the Heat