The Brooklyn Nets (3-14) were playing on the second night of a back-to-back against a New York Knicks (10-6) team that is looking to play the way that head coach Mike Brown wants them to. Brooklyn was hoping to end their home losing streak at six games after suffering a tough loss at the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, but things don’t always go your way.
The Nets lost to the Knicks 113-100 in a game that was essentially a competitive one until the third quarter when Brooklyn didn’t have answer for New York center Karl-Anthony Towns. Forward Noah Clowney had his best game of the season with 31 points (career-high) and four rebounds while rookie Drake Powell continued to show his potential with 15 points and four assists off the bench.
The aforementioned Towns did whatever he wanted to do against the Nets as he dropped 37 points and 12 rebounds with most of his points coming from point-blank layups. Guard Jalen Brunson did his part to make life easier for Towns as he had 27 points and three assists. Here are the Nets player grades following Monday’s loss to the Knicks:
Egor Demin: C-
Demin struggled shooting the ball in this one as he didn’t have his touch from three-point land despite getting some good looks against a beatable Knicks defense. Demin did a good job of being active in rebounding situations, but his on-ball creation was lacking in a game where New York forced Brooklyn to make something happen off the dribble throughout the contest.
Terance Mann: C-
Mann wasn’t terribly involved on the offensive end as he didn’t look for his shot much during his time on the floor or did much to set up his teammates with the ball in his hands. Mann was efficient with his scoring efficiency and he was involved in helping his team rebounding the basketball, but it would have been encouraging to see him get back on track as a scorer like he was a couple of weeks ago.
Michael Porter Jr.: D
After being on a scoring binge since the beginning of the season, Porter had one of his toughest games of the season as he couldn’t get anything to fall, especially from behind the three-point line. Porter began the game like he was going to have the potential of dropping 30 points again, but as the game went on, any onlooker could tell that he just didn’t have it against the Knicks.
Noah Clowney: A+
Clowney has been on a tear recently and this game showed that he is ready to take the next step in his development as he is being aggressive on the offensive end of the floor with almost every chance he gets. What has been impressive to see from Clowney is how much confidence he’s showing on the floor, whether he’s shooting a three-pointer or driving to the rim.
Nic Claxton: D
Claxton had one of his rougher games shooting the ball around the basket despite going against a Knicks frontcourt missing center Mitchell Robinson due to an illness. Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t present much of a threat to Claxton near the rim, but Claxton didn’t appear to have his usual energy on the offensive end as he spent most of the evening chasing Towns around.
Jalen Wilson: C-
With Ziaire Williams not playing in this game presumably due to rest on the second night of a back-to-back, Wilson was the player to fill those minutes and his outing was decent. Wilson did a good job of shooting the ball and maintaining his spacing on the floor when the ball didn’t come his way and he played hard on the defensive end of the floor as he always does.
Day’Ron Sharpe: C+
Sharpe has had better days on the offensive end of the floor as he didn’t get many looks at the basket and when the ball did come his way, he wasn’t able to finish at the rim. Even when Sharpe isn’t making plays with his offense, he’s normally more impactful on the glass, but that motor that he normally has wasn’t there in the second night of a back-to-back against the Knicks.
Tyrese Martin: B-
After coming off his best game of the season, Martin wasn’t able to buy a bucket despite getting some good looks from behind the three-point line. To his credit, Martin did a great job of contributing in other ways as he was constantly getting involved in rebounding situations and also did a good job of setting up his teammates during his drives into the paint.
Drake Powell: B
Powell showed plenty of signs in this one that he’s ready to take more of a role on the offensive end as he went nonstop at players like Tyler Kolek and Jalen Brunson. Powell knows that he can get by most defenders and the good news is that he is getting a better sense of when he has an advantage in a matchup instead of waiting for something to be set up for him.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets player grades: Noah Clowney drops 31 in 113-100 loss to Knicks
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
