The Brooklyn Nets made Cleveland sweat, but they couldn’t finish the job.
Down 22 points in the fourth quarter, Brooklyn stormed all the way back to within two before the Cavaliers finally steadied themselves and escaped with a 125-121 win Saturday night at Rocket Arena. The rally had real bite. The finish just wasn’t there.
Michael Porter Jr. carried the Nets with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Julius Randle added 23 points, six rebounds and five assists. Egor Dëmin gave Brooklyn its late jolt, finishing with 22 points and burying four three-pointers in a fourth quarter where he scored 15. Chaney Johnson chipped in 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Brooklyn’s night began sloppily with a 24-second violation on the opening possession, but the offense found its footing as the first quarter moved along. Porter hit from deep, then scored on back-to-back layups, and Randle knocked down a three and finished a three-point play to help Brooklyn briefly grab the lead.
Cleveland kept answering. Evan Mobley knocked down multiple three-pointers, Donovan Mitchell kept pressuring the rim, and Mario Hezonja beat the buzzer with a three to send the Cavaliers into the second quarter ahead 35-30.
That’s where Cleveland started stretching things out. The Cavaliers opened the second on an 11-0 burst and built a double-digit cushion before Johnson checked them with a three-pointer. Brooklyn answered with a 7-0 run sparked by Mikel Brown Jr. and Day'Ron Sharpe, and Noah Clowney added a big block on Mobley to help the Nets generate some energy.
Even so, the free-throw line kept working against Brooklyn. Cleveland had already attempted 20 free throws by halftime, and Tyrese Proctor’s late three pushed the Cavaliers to a 68-54 lead at the break.
Porter had 13 points and five rebounds by halftime. Mobley and Allen each had 13 for Cleveland, Mitchell had 10, and James Harden posted seven points, six rebounds and five assists.
The third quarter didn’t bring much relief for Brooklyn. Mitchell and Allen helped push the Cavaliers’ lead to 18, and while Porter and Randle kept producing, the Nets couldn’t put together enough stops to make a real dent. Porter and Randle accounted for Brooklyn’s first 17 points of the period, but Cleveland kept responding and took a 96-80 lead into the fourth after winning the quarter 28-26.
Then the game flipped.
Cleveland pushed the margin to 22 early in the final period, and it looked like the night might be over. Instead, Dëmin caught fire.
The rookie splashed four threes in the quarter, and Brooklyn started to rip away at the deficit. His shooting, along with Porter and Randle attacking inside, helped fuel a 7-0 burst in just 25 seconds and kept the pressure on Cleveland.
The Nets eventually turned it into a game. Dëmin, Randle and Johnson fueled a 17-4 run that trimmed the Cavaliers’ lead to 120-116. Randle then hammered home a dunk, and Porter followed with a three-pointer to pull Brooklyn within 123-121.
Cleveland had seen this movie before. The Cavaliers entered the night after blowing a 29-point lead in their previous game, and another late collapse suddenly looked possible.
This time, though, they held on. Harden got to the line, Sam Merrill hit two free throws, and Cleveland closed it out.
Brooklyn won the fourth quarter 41-29, but the earlier damage proved too much to overcome.
There were still encouraging pieces for the Nets, especially the way Porter, Randle and Dëmin fueled the comeback. But the bigger story was the defensive leakage that left Brooklyn chasing all night. The Nets gave up 125 points, had trouble keeping Cleveland off the foul line and ran into late foul trouble.
Sharpe was ejected in the fourth quarter after his sixth personal foul and second flagrant-one foul of the night. Dëmin and Porter also fouled out, leaving Brooklyn short-handed during the final push.
There isn’t much time to reset. The Nets return to Barclays Center on Sunday to face the Indiana Pacers at 6 p.m.
ET in the second game of a back-to-back. Fernández said Brown will sit out Sunday regardless of how many minutes he logs against Cleveland, so Brooklyn will have to keep searching for its first win of the season without the rookie guard.
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