As good as he was throughout, terrible execution on the last six seconds with the team down one, dribbling into a corner and misfiring a terrible shot.
But overall, made up for a shaky performance in emotionally-charged Boston with an excellent outing tonight, including some huge free throws down the stretch to ice the win. Started playing well after getting T’d up for a gum incident in the third quarter. Hit some threes and played with purpose against Kyle Lowry, who he clearly used as hatred fuel for a brief stretch. Looked like the above-the-break marksman the Nets traded for.
If only they played a game 47:54 in length.
Quiet, almost too quiet.
Kirileverywhere. In #BKConnect before the game, I spoke about how Kirilenko has the ability to impact a game in a variety of ways, which makes him an ideal off-the-bench glue guy. He did that tonight — cutting to the basket for a dunk, hitting the floor for loose balls, sneaking into the passing lane. Earned some crucial minutes in the fourth quarter, though I’m surprised Kidd took him out with six minutes left. Still shouldn’t shoot jump shots.
Missed an easy layup at a crucial juncture late in the fourth quarter, looked oddly hesitant and sluggish on some defensive possessions either going for the block or defending on his man, but was mostly good throughout the game. Controlled the glass, and he’s sneakily leading the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage. But if he’s not contesting shots at the rim and missing his own, that takes a huge chunk out of his effectiveness.
Other than the three that led to Lowry’s half-court buzzer-beater, I can’t remember anything he did.
Threw away the game-deciding pass, and in the blink of an eye, the game was lost.
Give him credit for a lack of ego coming off the bench, but at some point they’ll need him back in the starting lineup. Had a good early start, attacking the lane and getting some tough shots in the lane to fall. Nice to see his quickness on display.
Some punishing post moves but occasionally seemed like he was holding the ball too long, then getting stuck in a bad position on the floor. Nets didn’t go to him for much in crunch time.
Solid scoring in the first half but struggled with pick-and-roll defense as Jonas Valanciunas tore him apart for a stretch in the third quarter.
Before getting into his play, want to make one note. The barclays Center crowd may not be as solid as some night-in-and-night-out sellout crowds, but they’re smart about basketball. They gave Teletovic a loud ovation as a thank you for his 34-point outburst during the last home game, and they gasped audibly whenever he caught the ball on the perimeter.
A decent game for Teletovic overall — he didn’t explode like they might’ve wanted but he got open shots in the flow of the offense.
