The Nets suffered a 141-107 beating at the hands of Atlanta before a sellout crowd of 17,548 at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn (18-59) remained tied for second in the lottery race, keeping pace with Indiana. The Nets are ½-game behind first-place Washington, and two clear of Sacramento pending the Kings’ tilt with the visiting Pelicans later on Friday night.
Center Nic Claxton had a team-high 16 points and five rebounds, while Malachi Smith added 15 off the bench.
Guard Trevon Scott, inked on a 10-day contract, had six points in his debut. Noah Clowney was ejected with 5:35 left in the third quarter.
CJ McCollum had a game-high 25 points for the Hawks, who have won 19 of 22.
Michael Porter Jr. and rookie Danny Wolf both went from presumably out for the season to officially ruled out by Nets coach Jordi Fernández.
“Yeah, well, obviously you guys know Day’Ron [Sharpe] is out. With Mike and Danny, based on where we are right now — and based on where they’re at with their rehab, and we only have one week left — they’ll be out just from where they are,” Fernández said. “So that’s the update of those two.”
It’s an update that will shock no one.
Porter hasn’t played since March 10, suffering from a strained left hamstring. He’ll end his season averaging a career-high 24.2 points on 46.3/36.3/85.9 shooting splits.
Wolf, the last of Brooklyn’s record five first-round picks, sprained his ankle March 22 and will end his rookie campaign averaging 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds. He raised that to 10.8 points and 5.6 boards in his final 22 games.
“Yeah, they both have been very positive stories for us,” Fernández said. “[Wolf] being a rookie showed he belongs, and he’s been able to do very different things. Danny, from shooting the ball to playmaking to rebounding to being that primary ballhandler, playing off the ball, different lineups, I’m very happy with him.
“Obviously efficiency is important. We believe he’s a very good shooter. His playmaking efficiency has gotten better from college. And then defensively. … He surprised a lot of people. He didn’t surprise us. We felt like he could do all those things and keep bodies in front, keep guys in front of the ball and guard smaller guys. So he’s been very, very good.
“And then Michael in a new situation, being on the same team for seven years on a championship team and now having a different role, a different situation, everything has been also very positive. He’s played at an All-Star level. In my opinion, he should’ve been an All-Star. Now I want him to come back and have a chip on his shoulder, lead the team the way he’s been doing.”
Porter could be traded this summer. He’s also eligible for an extension of up to four years, $243 million, though would certainly command far less. Asked what Porter had shown the organization, Fernández said, “For that you’ve got to ask Sean [Marks, GM]. But me personally, he’s been put in a different role and he’s performed very well. He’s represented himself and the club very well.”
The Nets signed Trevon Scott to a 10-day contract. … Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney were upgraded to available against the visiting Hawks.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
