Brooklyn took care of business on Monday to claim a second-straight victory.
Coming off a miraculous comeback win over the Pistons on Saturday night, the Brooklyn Nets returned to the Barclays Center for a matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. The Nets would be without a pair of key contributors, as Michael Porter Jr.
missed the game with rest, while Egor Demin was ruled out for the rest of the season with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. With those guys out, the rest of the roster stepped up in a massive way to lead the Nets to an impressive 126-115 win.Monday's game was the definition of a team effort for the Nets. From the jump, everyone who got into the game was locked in and ready to play. The starters got Brooklyn off to a decent start, led by Nic Claxton dominating in the paint. He would finish the night with nine points, eight rebounds, and five assists in only 21 minutes. But it was the play of the bench that really swayed the game. The Nets' bench entered the game and immediately went on a run. Everyone was playing well, as Day'Ron Sharpe led the way with 19 points and five boards, while Ochai Agbaji added 18 points of his own. It hasn't happened often this season, but Jordi Fernandez got respectable efforts from nearly every single player who saw the court.After a shaky third quarter that saw the Grizzlies gain some ground, Brooklyn entered the fourth quarter needing to make a quick run. And they did just that. The Nets darted out to a 14-4 run in the opening three minutes of the quarter, opening up a 15-point lead and gaining some much-needed cushion. That proved to be enough to help seal the victory. Sharpe and Agbaji led the way to kick off the fourth, putting a bow on a fantastic night off the bench for the duo. The starters, led by Nolan Traore, would put the finishing touches on the result before a few minutes of garbage time. That's how you close a game.Monday was Brooklyn's second win in a row after a ten-game losing streak, and some fans were losing their mind online. At this point in the season, losing games is probably the best possible outcome for the franchise, as this upcoming NBA Draft is loaded with elite talent. But that doesn't mean that a few wins here and there aren't beneficial. It's good for a young team to experience what it's like to win games and play in close contests. Getting blown out every night might be good for the overall end goal, but it can be detrimental to the confidence of the young core. Games like these, where everyone comes together to get the win, are the building blocks to winning games more consistently.Zach is a recent college graduate covering the Brooklyn Nets for On SI. He also covers the University of Iowa athletics for HawkeyesWire and co-hosts a show on Iowa at the Voice of College Football.
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