Nets lose Game of Runs and fall victim to Cavaliers in the final seconds

The Brooklyn Nets had a chance to avenge their heartbreaking 108-104 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics last night, but they met a similar fate against the NBA's top team. They fought hard, but the Nets lost to their former head coach Kenny Atkinson and the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road 105-100.

The first quarter belonged to Cleveland and Donovan Mitchell. Despite Brooklyn's disruptive defense, it didn't seem to matter as the Cavaliers finished with ease from beyond the arc. Four of Cleveland's six three-pointers came from Mitchell, but timely answers from the Nets kept the contest close.

Almost every trey shot from the Cavaliers was answered with one from Brooklyn, albeit at a lower rate. Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith added two goals each, and Shake Milton scored a goal off the bench. Although the Nets were unable to contain the offensive juggernaut Cleveland, they managed to escape the opening stanza with a 34-28 deficit.

Brooklyn's second quarter performance meant two things. First, the Nets offense is exponentially better when Ben Simmons is on the floor. With the two-time All-Star sitting out the second half of back-to-back games, Brooklyn sorely missed out on support from Simmons' elite. Secondly, this group has so much courage.

Even when the Nets were already down 15 points after an 11-2 run against the best team in the NBA, they didn't give up. They got right back to work when Cam Thomas finally got involved, scoring seven points in the quarter. Brooklyn held the Cavaliers pointless for over three minutes, orchestrated a 12-0 run of their own and nearly tied the score. After the Nets stagnated once, they were only two points behind at halftime.

To say Brooklyn built on the strong finish to the first half would be an understatement. On the first possession of the third quarter, Thomas tied the game. Then he was fouled, giving the Nets a two-point lead at the charity stripe. That sequence served as the foundation for a monstrous 9-0 run in the first two minutes, and a Schröder three-pointer capped a 33-5 run for Brooklyn that stretched back to the five-minute mark of the second quarter.

Things only got worse for Cleveland from that point on. The Nets forced the Cavaliers into another three-minute point drought, putting the undefeated team on its heels. Unlike in previous encounters, Brooklyn went full throttle in the third period and had an 82:70 lead with 12 minutes to play.

Unfortunately, the Nets' typical third-quarter collapse wasn't delayed until the fourth quarter. Thanks to a masterful interior performance from Evan Mobley, Cleveland orchestrated runs of 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0 to take its first lead since the second quarter. Johnson, Schröder and Thomas did their best, but the Kenny Atkinson-led Cavaliers are just a machine. No matter what lies ahead, they have survived the first 11 games of the 2024-25 season.

At the final whistle, Brooklyn allowed 56 points from interior defense, including 23 from Mobley, becoming the latest victim of Cleveland's early-season rift.

The Nets are now 4-6 and looking to end their two-game losing streak on Monday night in the road trip finale in Brooklyn against the New Orleans Pelicans.

To access the Brooklyn Nets' final score against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Click here.

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