Then there were none
Harden neck injury leaves Nets without 3 stars in blowout loss
JAZZ 118
NETS 88
The game was over before it ever started. The Nets never stood a chance against the league-best Jazz on Wednesday night, not without Kevin Durant (hamstring), Kyrie Irving (personal), James Harden (neck soreness) or Blake Griffin (knee maintenance). The Jazz ran away early, leading by as many as 38 in a 118-88 victory over the Nets.
Reserve shooter Landry Shamet (ankle) also missed Wednesday’s game, as did Spencer Dinwiddie, who has been out since Game 3 with a partial ACL tear.
The loss was expected: Utah owns the best record in the NBA, powered by Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley, each of whom were named All-Stars this season. Mitchell and Conley combined for
45 points, including 22 in the first quarter, and Gobert tallied 11 rebounds and three blocks.
The Nets, who started Tyler Johnson, Bruce Brown, Joe Harris, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Jeff Green, had neither the firepower nor the manpower to stick around. The game was over after one, when the Jazz held a 38-17 lead.
That starting lineup saw few minutes in the second half, when coach Steve Nash waved the white flag by starting Alize Johnson, a G-League call-up on a 10-day contract who played the game of his life.
The Nets signed Johnson to a 10-day contract to meet the league’s minimum roster requirement of 14 players, and with key players down, Nash said Johnson would have a trial by fire. Johnson, who is a candidate for G-League MVP with Raptors 905, totaled 23 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and two steals in his NBA debut.
“We’ll try to keep it real simple while he’s on the floor, we’ll try to guide him and just put him in a position where it’s risk-averse,” Nash said pregame. “Play hard, have fun, we’ll make it simple for you and if you make mistakes, don’t worry just play hard, play with energy, and that’s the reality of these scenarios when you’re down bodies and you bring someone in during a condensed schedule.”
Nic Claxton hit his first three of the season and just his second regular-season trey since he was drafted 31st overall in 2019. It was a welcome sight for the second-year forward, who shot 10-of-18 from deep in the G-League last season but hadn’t found the same consistency at the NBA level.
Claxton said the team doesn’t prioritize him shooting threes, but looks were available with so many players out. The make also proved he’s come along since undergoing surgery on his shooting shoulder last season.
“I had to really focus on my mechanics and kind of reteach myself how to shoot,” Claxton said on Feb. 25. “And that’s been a process, but I’ve been working on my three ball, and that’s something that you all will see for sure.”
Nets’ 2021 second-round pick Reggie Perry has spent about half the season in the G-League with the Long Island Nets. Activated on a depleted roster, Perry recorded 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals, including a two-of-four shooting night from downtown.
The Nets finish their three-game road trip with a game in Detroit against a Pistons team that has had their number this season.