Nets unable to overcome Reaves’ career night, leaves LA 0-2

After the lopsided loss in franchise history – a 59-point massacre against the LA Clippers – the Brooklyn Nets got a chance to get revenge in Southern California. At Crypto.com Arena, they suffered their seventh loss in the last eight games, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers without Anthony Davis 102-101.

D’Angelo Russell led Brooklyn with 19 points and eight assists, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Austin Reaves’ career-high 38 points.

This one began to look eerily similar to the unacceptable performance against the Clippers, as neither team was able to find their shots, but the Nets held on to a slim lead.

That was until Brooklyn was met with a four-minute scoring drought, seemingly unable to get the ball through the hoop.

Again without Cam Johnson, there was no scorer on the offensive end, forcing Jordi Fernandez’s men into a balanced attack.

For what it’s worth, the visitors led for most of the first quarter. It took a buzzer-beating three-pointer from LeBron James — who was two points short of becoming the all-time leading scorer against the Nets in just 10 minutes — to give the Lakers a one-point lead.

Three minutes into the second quarter, James reached the milestone and surpassed Michael Jordan as the ultimate Net killer while scoring his 13th point in as many minutes.

Despite a potentially vintage performance from the Lakers’ star, Tosan Evbuomwan wasn’t about to let Brooklyn fall behind.

Coming off the bench, he rattled off three straight and finished the first half with six points and three rebounds.

James finally got some help late in the quarter when Reaves caught fire.

He finished the half with 16 points, but a combined 13 from Evbuomwan and D’Angelo Russell cut Los Angeles’ one-time 11-point lead to just six at halftime.

The third quarter was almost identical.

Instead of Evbuomwan and Russell, Ziaire Williams and Jalen Wilson took charge.

The Nets’ young wing duo caught fire from beyond the arc, but the continued brilliance of James and Reaves prevented Brooklyn from taking the lead.

Still, the balanced, tempo-controlling offense cut the Nets’ lead to just four heading into the final stretch.

As soon as the fourth quarter started, teams started trading triples.

Six minutes into the final stanza, a combined 10 three-pointers had been made, preventing either side from going more than three ahead.

With 3:45 left in regulation, Reaves buried his fourth deep shot and surpassed his career high in scoring while giving the Lakers an eight-point advantage.

But Brooklyn wouldn’t go away. Seconds after the Reaves bomb, Russell answered with one of his own, again creating just a two-possession game.

Down four with a minute to play, the Nets turned to Noah Clowney.

He would bury a corner three and cut the deficit to one.

After a Reaves missed dagger, with the game on the line, the ball would fall into the hands of Russell, the former-Laker.

Unfortunately, he would be too strong on a top-of-the-key three, resulting in a one-point loss.

After completing five of Brooklyn’s six-game road trip, Fernandez and company shift their focus to Sunday night’s matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder at 1 p.m. 7:00 PM EST.

To access the final score of the Nets’ win/loss to/over the Lakers, click here.

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