Look down the Nets schedule and you’ll see a series of teams with quick backcourts. It’s no coincidence: with the NBA getting speedier and more athletic, teams have placed a premium on guards that can make smart decisions off of pick-and-rolls and break down defenses to create 4-on-3 and 2-on-1 situations.

The Nets struggle to contain these kind of players: their quickest player isn’t big enough, their smartest defender isn’t athletic enough, their tallest defender isn’t nimble enough. And whenever Damian Lillard stopped, C.J. McCollum picked right up, whether it was firing three-pointers over Shane Larkin, cutting behind Joe Johnson, or splitting Brook Lopez’s pick-and-roll coverages. In today’s NBA, speed — and playmaking — tend to trump size. And the Trail Blazers did just that.

For about 41.5 minutes, the Nets and Trail Blazers played a fun, tight game contrasting these two styles. The Nets’ bench — which had struggled badly to contain the Blazers’ guard penetration — even held court in the first 4:30 of the fourth quarter. But in a crucial two-minute stretch, the Trail Blazers put up seven quick points, holding Brooklyn’s bench to zero. By the time the starters returned, they faced a 100-93 hole, which proved just too much to climb out of.

(Sorry I have nothing to add about Nickelodeon night. I’d attempt to connect this game to some nostalgic Nickelodeon show, but the truth is I didn’t grow up with cable, so the night provided little value for me, and it’d feel inauthentic to try to make some connection I don’t really know anything about. If it was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I’d have more thoughts.)