Opponent: Dallas Mavericks
Location: American Airlines Center (Dallas)
Time: 8:30 PM EDT
Watch: YES Network, Fox Sports GO app
The Brooklyn Nets (12-34) got back to their losing ways on Wednesday, falling 102-98 to the visiting Miami Heat. Despite playing without starters Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside, the Heat still managed to shoot over 54 percent from the field led by Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh’s 54 points on 23-of-40 shooting (57.5 percent).
Tonight, the Nets start a mini two-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks (26-22), who are coming off a shellacking at the hands of the Golden State Warriors Wednesday. The Warriors scored 71 second-half points and shot 58 percent from the field en route to a 127-107 victory led by Klay Thompson’s season-high 45 points.
Ex-Nets franchise player and current starting point guard Deron Williams will get his first action against his former team tonight after missing the December 23rd game in Brooklyn with a hamstring injury. The injury, as it turned out, may have been what did the Nets in: backup point guard J.J. Barea, starting for Williams, scored 32 points, including five three-pointers, and dished out 11 assists in the 119-118 overtime victory. The Mavericks shot 54.9 percent for the game, including 16-of-34 (47.1 pct) from behind the arc. The Nets posted a 28-0 advantage in second-chance points and dished out a season-high 32 assists; this marked the only game in the last 15 years that the Nets outscored their opponent by 28-plus in second chance points.
Yet they still lost. Thaddeus Young led the Nets with 29 points (14-for-20 FG), 10 rebounds, and four steals, not to mention his game-tying three pointer that sent the game to overtime. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points (6-of-8 FG, 5-of-5 from 3-point range) in 26 minutes, marking the seventh time in Nets history that a player made five or more threes without a miss.
The Mavericks have hit overtime in four of their last five home games, winning three of them. In fact, three of their last five games against the Nets have gone to overtime, spanning over the last three seasons; the Mavericks have 5-1 record in overtime games this season.
Mavericks center Zaza Pachulia has missed the last three games with an Achilles injury, and is questionable to return tonight. The 31-year-old Georgia (the country) native is arguably having his best of his 13 seasons in the NBA, averaging 10.4 points and 10.7 rebounds in 29.2 minutes per game.
Ex-Nets guard Devin Harris has missed the last two games with a toe injury and is also questionable to play tonight.
Milestone watch: Joe Johnson is one three-pointer shy of 500 made three-pointers as a Net. He would join Jason Kidd (813), Kerry Kittles (687), and Vince Carter (638) as players to make 500-plus threes as a Net.
