Through three quarters of Mavericks-Nets, Bojan Bogdanovic had played his most effective game in a Nets uniform this season: 17 points, a blazing 5-for-5 on three-pointers, and a team-high +15 — one for every point he hit from beyond the arc — in 25 minutes.
But that was it for Bogdanovic, who played just 76 seconds in the fourth quarter and overtime without a shot attempt.
It’s not clear what, if any, reason Lionel Hollins had for benching Bogdanovic. If there was a reason for it, Hollins didn’t want anyone else to know.
“Well, I could just say coach’s decision, which it was, and I’ll just leave it at that,” Hollins said, exiting the podium and cutting the post-game press conference short. (Watch the end of the video above.)
When pressed, Hollins added “I don’t want to talk about it” as he walked off.
If Hollins had a reason for benching Bogdanovic, it did not appear that he told the second-year guard, who said he respected the coach’s decision.
I mean, honestly, that’s the coach’s decision,” Bogdanovic said. “The guys on the court did a great job, so he (wanted) that lineup to close the game, to get a win, and I don’t have any problem with that, I respect the coach’s decision.”
When asked, Bogdanovic also theorized that Dallas’s two-point guard lineup played a factor. But the Mavericks used a two-point guard lineup for less than a minute in that timeframe, relying instead on a primary lineup of J.J. Barea, Wesley Matthews, Chandler Parsons, Dirk Nowitzki, and Charlie Villanueva. The Nets did play a two-point lineup of Shane Larkin and Jarrett Jack throughout most of the closing moments.
The Nets lost in overtime, 119-118.
