Nets end rough home season with feel-good victory
Before starters were announced ahead of the Nets’ 106-102 victory in their home finale against the Raptors Wednesday night, Mikal Bridges jogged out to halfcourt and was handed a microphone.
He shared a message, staying as positive as he could in the moment. With every camera inside Barclays Center pointed at him, he thanked the sellout crowd of 17,732 for its support and apologized to fans for what has been a disappointing season, to put it gently.
“We appreciate you guys coming out this year,” said Bridges, who has two years left on his four-year, $91 million deal. “I know it’s been a tough year, but we appreciate you guys hanging on with us. We’ll be back next year.”
The Nets will not host any playoff games, but they certainly had
Barclays Center rocking at different points this season.
Like when the team drilled 25 3-pointers against the Bulls on Nov. 26. Or when Ben Simmons finally made his return against the Jazz on Jan. 29. Or when the Nets knocked down 18 treys in the second half against Chicago on March 29. Or, more recently, when they outscored the Pistons, 38-20, in the fourth quarter last Saturday, including a 19-0 run late in regulation, to steal a 113-103 win.
Wednesday proved to be one of those nights, even though the Nets did not play their sharpest game. They entered the fourth quarter trailing Toronto, 80-77, but the crowd came to life when Dennis Schröder picked up his offense late in regulation. The point guard scored eight straight points, starting at the 5:59 mark in the fourth quarter, to put the Nets ahead, 95-94.
With 2:22 left, Noah Clowney skied for a putback dunk off a Schröder miss to tie the game, 9797. When the “defense” chats began, Nic Claxton responded with his fifth block of the night. The crowd started to believe, and “Let’s Go Nets!” chants followed.
A three-point play by Schröder with 35.3 seconds left put the Nets up by a bucket, and on the Raptors’ next offensive possession, Garrett Temple lost the ball under the basket. A scramble ensued, and Schröder was able to secure the loose ball and call a timeout.
Interim head coach Kevin Ollie drew something up, but Noah Clowney turned the ball over. However, the rookie did not give up on the play, instead chasing down Temple in the open court for his seventh block of the game. Then all Schröder had to do was ice the game at the free-throw line.
A night that started with a sincere apology ended with the Nets’ 32nd win of the season, although they did make things harder than they had to be, turning the ball over 15 times, surrendering 18 second-chance points and allowing 16 3-pointers against a team that shot just 37.2% from the field.
But none of that mattered on Wednesday night. Not the ugly stats, not the fact that Immanuel Quickley finished with 32 points, not another forgettable offensive night from Bridges. The Nets were able to get one last win at Barclays Center, and that is what mattered most.
Because their fans deserved much better than what they ultimately got this season.