Nolan Traoré did everything a point guard can do for three quarters in Atlanta. The second-year guard scored a season-high 19, made eight of his 10 shots and picked up five steals. Then he watched the entire fourth quarter from the bench as the Nets blew a 17-point lead and lost 124-121 to the Hawks. A Nets guard benched for a full quarter after a night like that raises questions, and coach Jordi Fernández has offered an answer.
Nets Guard Benched in the Fourth: Nolan Traoré’s Season-High Night
Traoré set the tone early. He scored seven of Brooklyn’s first nine points and had nine in the first quarter, and the Nets raced to a 31-14 lead. He finished with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including two threes, and five steals in 22 minutes and 56 seconds. Brooklyn was plus-9 with him on the floor.
Then came the fourth quarter, and he never got back in.
Why Mikel Brown Jr. Got the Fourth Quarter
The answer is Brown. The rookie, the No. 6 pick in June, had missed his first seven shots and had just five points entering the fourth. Then he scored 13 in the period, hitting three threes, and finished with 18.
Fernández said he saw five straight points from Brown and let him run with it, because you can’t keep subbing players in and out. Asked whether it was the right call, he wasn’t sure. “Was it right? I don’t know.”
It also fits a pattern. Traoré and Brown are both 20, and Fernández has been reluctant to play them together. By one count they’ve shared the floor for only about five minutes this season.
How the Nets Lost a 17-Point Lead
Brooklyn led 70-66 at halftime and didn’t trail until Nickeil Alexander-Walker made two free throws with 1:26 left. Brown’s three-pointer had put the Nets up 114-110 with 2:13 to play, but the Hawks closed on a 14-7 run. They outscored Brooklyn 36-26 in the fourth, and Jalen Johnson, back from an ankle injury, had 30 points. Danny Wolf’s three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left cut it to two, but Onyeka Okongwu sealed it from the free-throw line.
The Nets also had 16 turnovers through three quarters, which kept the Hawks in it.
A Rotation Question Worth Watching
Day’Ron Sharpe’s first career triple-double (12 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds) got lost in the loss. So did the fact that Traoré has scored at least 15 points in six of his last seven games.
Fernández’s logic is easy to follow, since Brown was the hot hand. So is the other side. A guard who hit 8 of 10 sat for all 12 minutes while a 2-7 team gave away a lead. A Nets guard benched like that doesn’t mean a crisis, but when even the coach isn’t sure, it’s worth watching.
Nets Guard Benched All Fourth Quarter After a Season-High 19 Points