The Brooklyn Nets visited the Miami-Dade Arena on Saturday to face the Miami Heat for the third and final time this season and won 129-100. Brooklyn has swept the regular-season series 3-0.
For the Nets, Mikal Bridges had 27 points and seven assists while Cam Johnson had 23 points and four assists. Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 points and Nic Claxton had 14 points.
For the Heat, Tyler Herro had 23 points and three assists while Max Strus had 23 points and five rebounds. Jimmy Butler had 18 points and Bam Adebayo had 16 points.
In the first half, the Heat started the game on fire as they seemingly couldn’t miss from anywhere on the court. The Nets struggled to make any shots harder for Miami and the Heat took full advantage of that. A prime example of that was Heat forward Max Strus scoring 20 points off the bench while not missing a shot.
In the second half, something happened in the third quarter as Brooklyn won the period 39-18. The Nets locked down on the defensive end and they couldn’t miss from anywhere on the floor. In the fourth quarter, it was more of the same as the Heat couldn’t find their way out of their funk. Brooklyn turned things around to the point that Miami didn’t know what to do on offense as they looked like a tired team.
Here are your Nets player grades:
Spencer Dinwiddie: b
Dinwiddie had a rough time shooting the ball in this game. While he did not shoot much because of how well Cam Johnson was playing, Dinwiddie did a great job of getting to the free-throw line and using his quickness to draw contact once close to the rim. He did a good job rebounding the ball from his guard position on the floor and he was great finding his teammates either cutting to the basket or spotting up for open threes.
Mikal Bridges: C+
Bridges had a rough time shooting the ball in this contest. It was a rare time to see him not being able to shoot the ball well from anywhere on the floor, including his sweet spot in the mid-range. Despite his shooting struggles, Bridges got to the charity stripe a lot and that helped him put points on the board. Bridges did a good job of passing the ball as the secondary ball-handler when Spencer Dinwiddie isn’t in the game.
Cam Johnson: A
Johnson had a wonderful performance for the Nets. His shot was on point from the beginning as he couldn’t seem to miss from anywhere on the court. Johnson even had a few times where he drove to the rim for some nice finishes and that’s part of his game that he’s been working to improve. He also did a good job passing the ball after he got past his man and didn’t have anything going to the basket.
Dorian Finney-Smith: B
Finney-Smith did a solid job of scoring the ball in this one. He did not shoot the ball well in the first half, but in the second half, he looked to have found his rhythm as he made a three and a putback slam during Brooklyn’s big run in the third quarter. He did a good job of rebounding the basketball despite having to guard Jimmy Butler for most of the game.
Nic Claxton: A+
Claxton did a great job of shooting the ball in this one. He did a great job of finishing at the rim and catching lob passes despite some heavy traffic in the paint. Claxton did a wonderful job of rebounding the basketball after not doing as much of that in the first half and he did a good job of passing the ball to his open teammates after catching the ball in the high post. As usual, Claxton did a great job of defending the rim, especially in the second half.
Royce O’Neale: B+
O’Neale did a good job of scoring the ball in this contest. Most of his shots came from three-point land and his three-point shot was in rhythm. O’Neale did a good job of distributing the basketball when it got into his hands and his defense, especially on Bam Adebayo, was pivotal to Brooklyn’s success against the Heat.
Day’Ron Sharpe: B
Sharpe did not get as many minutes in this one as he did in Thursday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he was just as effective against the Miami Heat. He did a good job of finishing strong at the rim and getting to the free-throw line as a result of him putting pressure on the cup throughout his time on the floor. Sharpe did a great job of rebounding the basketball and his defense was effective when the Nets needed a stop.
Edmond Sumner: b
Sumner did a good job of scoring the ball in this matchup. He was able to get to the rim at will and he even threw in a three-pointer for good measure. Sumner does not play much in most games, but in this one, he had his rhythm going and Jacque Vaughn decided to ride with him as a replacement for Seth Curry.
Joe Harris: B-
Harris did a good job of shooting the ball in this one. He only made two three-pointers, but those made came at crucial times in this game. He did a good job rebounding and not being a negative on the defensive end for the time that he was on the floor.
Yuta Watanabe: C-
Outside of a single three-pointer, Watanabe did not do much in this game. He played just five minutes in this contest as Jacque Vaughn deferred to playing guys like Royce O’Neale and Edmond Sumner to provide the spark and shooting off the bench.
Story originally appeared on Nets Wire