NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (26-56) had just one game left on their schedule and it was a fitting game to possibly win as they were welcoming the New York Knicks (51-31) to Barclays Center. However, Brooklyn came into the game with a myriad of injuries and with the Knicks still playing some guys in their rotation, the Nets did not achieve their desired outcome.
The Nets lost to the Knicks 113-105 in the regular-season finale as the game got away from Brooklyn in the third quarter thanks to their offense going cold in the period. Trendon Watford stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block while Tyrese Martin had 20 points and seven rebounds in what was the last game of the season for Brooklyn.
Landry Shamet led the way for the Knicks as he put up 29 points and two rebounds in 40 minutes off the bench while Cam Payne had 21 points and seven assists in 34 minutes as one of the starters. Here are three Nets takeaways from Sunday’s regular-season finale loss to the Knicks:
Tyrese Martin
Martin played one of his better games for the Nets in a spot where the team would have actually benefitted from a win given that Brooklyn has the Knicks’ first-round pick in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft. As this pertains to Martin, he was the starting point guard for the game and while he didn’t rack up many assists, he displayed his ability to handle to ball and get to his sweet spots on the floor.
Throughout this season, but especially within the past couple of weeks, head coach Jordi Fernandez has been experimenting with different players at the point guard spot with Martin and Keon Johnson normally taking turns at the ball-handling duties. Martin shot the ball well overall mostly due to his ability to get to the rim against New York and he was all over the boards in a game that Brooklyn had a chance to win before the final couple of minutes.
Here’s what Martin had to say when asked about what it was like to play in the final game of the season:
“It’s definitely good, my body definitely feels it. (It’s the) first time I played this many games in my professional career, especially at this level. Definitely grateful and appreciative of it. I definitely feel it so but, (take a) couple weeks off, and then get back to it and anticipate having another great season.”
Trendon Watford
Watford continued his solid play to end the season as he continuously found ways to get to the rim against the Knicks’ defense that was missing Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. With players like Cam Johnson and D’Angelo Russell out of the lineup for the past few games, Watford had been tasked with being one of the primary creators on the team from the power forward spot and he handled that role as well as could be expected.
Watford finished this game by stuffing the stat sheet with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block to showcase more of his all-around talent when he is put in a position for more minutes and more responsibility. Watford also picked up four turnovers and five fouls as he still has those aspects of his game to work on, but for what he can do on the offensive end outside of that, he’ll be an intriguing player to keep tabs on this offseason.
Jalen Wilson
Wilson had another strong game to finish his second season in the NBA as he was on fire shooting the ball from three-point land, whether the shots were coming in the half-court or in transition. Throughout this season, the focus has been on whether Wilson can be a reliable shooter from deep given that is where his offensive impact mostly comes from, at least this season in his career.
Not only has Wilson been shooting the ball well to end the season, but he showed some all-around ability with four rebounds and four assists to part with his 20 points. Wilson has been a solid player for the Nets ever since he taken in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft and if his shooting continues to improve, he could find himself being a part of the rotation next season.
Here’s what Wilson had to say when it comes to where he has grown the most over the course of this season:
“Probably just my feel for the game. I think the game slowed down a lot game-by-game this year, and (it) just came with getting reps, came with starting the summer out the right way. Then, going into the season and just taking advantage of every opportunity, no matter how many minutes it was (per) game, just being prepared and being ready. Just growing and learning more about the game is something that I can continue to do. I was very blessed this year to have this opportunity and to just keep growing going into next season.”
