Nets lose to Thunder 121-92; Jalen Wilson scores 15 points off bench
The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday 121-92, but forward Jalen Wilson had 15 points and five rebounds off the bench.
NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets (17-52) have been dealing with some tough losses lately despite being at home as they have entered the tough part of their schedule to end the season. Brooklyn was dealing with some injuries heading into arguably their toughest matchup of the year against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder (55-15) and the Nets did not show up to start. The Nets lost to the Thunder on Wednesday 121-92 after falling behind by as many as 42 points in the game, including heading into halftime facing a 60-24 deficit.
Forward Jalen Wilson came off the bench to score 15 points and five rebounds in just 19 minutes while rookie guard Nolan Traore had 13 points and six assists against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. While Brooklyn struggled on both ends of the floor against the defending champions in the Thunder, the offensive end was more noticeable given that the Nets shot just 36. 7% from the field and 31.
4% from three-point range. More to the point, Brooklyn had trouble taking care of the ball as they committed 23 turnovers, leading to 31 points for an Oklahoma City team that had no issues scoring. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a tame night by his standards as he finished the game with 20 points and six assists in 26 minutes, but guard Jared McCain hopped off the bench to torch the Nets.
McCain finished with 26 points and three rebounds in 29 minutes as Brooklyn allowed six different Thunder players to score at least 10 points, led by McCain's 26 points. The Nets had a better second half as they actually won the final 24 minutes 68-61, thanks to the team shooting 48. 8% from the floor and 52.