Ben Simmons’ Brooklyn Nets debut was one to forget against the New Orleans Pelicans, with the Aussie finishing with four points and fouling out in 23 minutes.
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram combined for 53 points to help the Pelicans bulldoze through the Nets 130-108 in a lopsided affair in Brooklyn.
Williamson was particularly impressive early and looked at his scary best, finishing with 25 points, nine rebounds and four steals in a brilliant return from the forward.
Kevin Durant’s 32 points led the Nets to go with four blocks, while Kyrie Irving was also quiet with 15 points.
Thu, 20 Oct
Thursday October 20th
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The Pelicans got the jump on the Nets early in the game, piling on points in the paint in the first term behind a hot start from Williamson.
The former Pick 1 racked up eight points, four rebounds and three steals in the first and was particularly active on the defensive end.
Meanwhile Simmons, like all his Brooklyn teammates amid a myriad of turnovers and inaccurate shooting from deep, struggled to get into the tempo of the game despite being busy on the glass.
Kevin Durant’s six points led Brooklyn at the first break.
New Orleans held a 32-14 advantage in a one-sided start, with Williamson and CJ McCollum (six points, two rebounds, two assists influential early.
The Nets looked generally more dangerous in the second term as Simmons stayed busy rebounding and handling the ball, but continued to struggle to get into an offensive rhythm.
McCollum became the main danger man for the visitors on the offensive end, converting an and-one play to extend the Pelicans’ lead to 16 points at the eight minute mark.
Nic Claxton provided a spark for Brooklyn though to keep his team alive in the contest, tallying nine points and five rebounds including a timely putback dunk.
Wiliamson continued to bully anyone and anything in his way, bulldozing past Simmons among other Nets defenders to finish a tough layup in traffic.
“Zion Williamson has not missed a beat,” YES Network and Brooklyn Nets commentator Ian Eagle noted.
Kevin Durant really came to life late in the second quarter, pouring in 15 points in the period to help reduce the Nets’ deficit to single digits.
Durant was also busy on the defensive end, meeting Brandon Ingram at the rim in an emphatic rejection just before half-time.
New Orleans led 58-50 at the main break behind the lead of Ingram (11 points), Williamson (11 points, four rebounds, three steals), Jonas Valanciunas (13 points, eight boards) and McCollum (11 points, four assists) .
Meanwhile Durant had 21 points and two blocks for the Nets and Claxton added nine boards, six rebounds and two blocks. Simmons had two points, five boards and three assists.
The Pelicans pulled away in the third term in what had very much become the Ingram and Williamson show, combining for 23 points to blow out the margin to over 20 points.
Outside of Durant, the Nets could not generate any offense as Simmons and Irving totaled 13 points combined through three terms.
New Orleans ultimately won the third term 40-28 as Brooklyn had no answers for its versatile offense.
Simmons’ lackluster debut for the Nets culminated in the Aussie fouling early in the fourth quarter.
Speaking after the game, teammate Irving said Simmons was too valuable to be spending extra time on the bench.
“As we told him in the locker room, he’s a valuable piece for us and we need him out there,” Irving said.
“Fouling out is not an option. Playing aggressive is something that we want him to do, but we also want to play smart.”
Brooklyn struggled to pull many more punches in the fourth term as New Orleans’ offense continued to surge to maintain its big advantage on the scoreboard.
Ingram finished with 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a leading role in the second half.
Meanwhile Patty Mills enjoyed an impressive cameo off the bench with 16 points and four triples.
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