Paul George’s Huge Night Ends Brooklyn’s In Devastation
D’Angelo Russell and the skidding Brooklyn Nets came into Wednesday night in a hole that no one but themselves can dig them out of.
Getting it going from downtown while taking advantage of a mostly sloppy offensive performance by the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Brooklyn Nets appeared well on their way to ending their skid.
And then Paul George told them otherwise.
The Oklahoma City Thunder shocked the Brooklyn Nets 114-112 on Wednesday night at the Barclays Center to move Brooklyn’s slide to eight games.
Paul George hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining in the game to help Oklahoma City erase what was once a 23-point second half deficit.
George dominated with a season-high 47 points while adding 15 rebounds. 25 of his 47 points came in the fourth quarter as Oklahoma City outscored Brooklyn 39-19 in the period.
The Thunder forward overshadowed a milestone night for Russell Westbrook, who passed former Net Jason Kidd on the all-time triple doubles list with his 108th triple double of his career on Wednesday night.
Westbrook finished the game with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists in 40 minutes vs. the Brooklyn Nets.
It was once again a finger nibbler for Brooklyn trying to hold a late lead in the fourth quarter that was once a 20-point lead in the opening minutes of the fourth period.
For some reason, the team’s offense goes into the tank when it matters most as players start trying to take matters into their own hands, playing hero ball and forcing unnecessary shots.
Defensively, it’s hard to knock Brooklyn allowing Paul George to do what he did. Kenny Atkinson knows better than most that superstar caliber players like George are capable of scoring nights and hot shooting like what we all saw on Wednesday night.
The problems for Brooklyn, however, are on the offensive end, which gets away from what worked through three quarters. It also doesn’t help allowing 17 offensive rebounds to a team trying to battle back into a game.
The Nets, who fell to 8-18, got off to a virtuoso start against Oklahoma City, taking a commanding 62-46 lead into the half thanks to a strong second quarter performance.
But as has been the case in a number of defeats during this season, Brooklyn couldn’t carry their energy, effort and execution for four quarters.
Allen Crabbe scored a team-high 22 points, hitting all seven of his field goals from downtown.
Six Brooklyn Nets reached double figures on the night, with four coming in the starting lineup.
With yet another loss, the Brooklyn Nets remain winless at home vs. Western Conference foes this season, falling to 0-8.
The Brooklyn Nets will look to snap their eight-game losing streak on Friday night as they welcome a tough challenge in the Toronto Raptors.
What has been ailing the Nets the most during this current losing streak? Leave your comments below!