Jaylen Hands leads Long Island Nets blowout win over Lakeland Magic, 102-74

The Long Island Nets win their second straight game Sunday, blowing out the Lakeland Magic, 102-74.

The story of the game was the number of active players each team had or more precisely, didn’t. The Nets had only had eight active players while the Magic had only six active! Both Nets-two way players, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Henry Ellenson, as well as Rodions Kurucs were with Brooklyn while Deng Adel (sick) and CJ Massinburg (ankle sprain) were ruled out.

Despite that, Jaylen Hands and Devin Cannady stepped up and had great outings. Long Island had six players finish in double-figures in the win.

Hands, the Nets second-round pick, had another impressive game for Long Island finishing with 22 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 35 minutes of play. The former UCLA Bruin shot 8-of-16 from the field and 4-of-8 from three in the win. Hands is now shooting better than 45 percent from deep for the season.

Devin Cannady also put his sharpshooting on display against the Magic. The former Princeton Tiger recorded 20 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists in the win. He shot 8-of-16 from the field and 4-of-9 from three in 30 minutes of play.

John Egbunu filling in Henry Ellenson, played well for the Nets in the win. His size was an x-factor in the win over the Magic.

The former Florida Gator tallied 13 points and 14 rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting from the field in 23 minutes of play. He’s shooting 38.1 percent from deep for the season.

Joe Cremo and Ismael Sanogo debuted for Long Island in the win. Both players were picked up by the team from the available player pool Thursday, with the Nets waiving Jahmal McMurray and Angel Nunez to make room for them.

Cremo scored five points, grabbed five rebounds, and handed out three assists in 29 minutes of play while Sanogo had six points, five rebounds, and two assists in 32 minutes of play.

As a team, the Nets shot 38-of-80 from the field (48 percent) and 14-of-39 from three (36 percent). Despite the positive shooting, Long Island had trouble securing the ball, recording a total of 22 turnovers in the win.

For the Magic, B.J. Johnson had a good outing, scoring 27 points and six rebounds in 43 minutes of play. Hassani Gravett recorded 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists. As a team, Lakeland shot 25-of-82 from the field (30 percent) and 11-of-28 from three (39 percent). The Magic recorded 15 turnovers in the loss.

Shaun Fein and the coaching staff started Hands, Cannady, Ash Yacoubou, CJ Williams, and Jonathan Kasibabu.

Long Island stuck early with the starters up until the 6:24 mark. Kasibabu and Cannady were subbed out and replaced by Cremo and Egbunu. Long Island began to pull away late in the second quarter, going on a 10-3 scoring run to end the first.

At the end of one, Long Island led 29-19. Cannady had a strong first quarter, scoring 11 of Long Island’s 29 points.

The Nets started the second right where they left off, due to a Cannady three. Lakeland began to pick up their offensive play but were not able to cut their deficit to single digits to end the half. Long Island did a good job spreading the floor and moving the ball around the perimeter throughout the first half.

Long Island led Lakeland 53-37 at the end of the half. The Nets outscored the Magic 23-18 in the second.

Cannady led the Nets in first half scoring with 17 points to go along with five rebounds, and two assists in 18 minutes. He shot 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from three. Hands had a good half, scoring eight points, two rebounds, and two assists in 18 minutes of play. The Nets second round pick shot 3-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from three in the first half.

As a team, the Nets shot 21-of-44 from the field (48 percent) and 7-of-17 from three (41 percent). The Nets first half play was one of the best half’s the Nets have played all season.

Long Island opened the third on a 6-2 scoring run in the first two minutes of play. The Nets did a good job using the clock to their advantage throughout the third and continuing their good ball movement. Long Island went on a 10-0 scoring run midway through the third to extend their lead to 24. The Nets went out to close to the third up 21 points.

At the end of the third, the Nets led 77-56.

At the end of the third, Cannady led the Nets with 20 points in 27 minutes. The sharpshooter shot 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-8 from three. Hands continued to have a good all around game with 12 points, two rebounds, and three assists in 18 minutes of play followed by Egbunu, who recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds after three quarters.

As a team, the Nets entered the fourth shooting 29-of-64 from the field and 12-of-31 from three.

With the Nets entering the fourth up 21, their main goal was to bleed out the clock and not blow their lead. Long Island, entering this game, have had a history of blowing fourth quarter leads but this game was different.

Cremo brought up the ball and served as the floor general throughout the fourth quarter, even with Hands on the floor. The Nets played with a much slower tempo in the fourth, using the clock to their advantage.

Long Island look to make it three straight when they take on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Friday in a much anticipated rematch of the 2019 NBA G League Finals. The game is part of the G League’s annual WInter Showcase, which will take place at the Mandalay Bay Resorts and Casino in Las Vegas,

• Game Report: Long Island Nets 102, Lakeland Magic 74 (with the Video) - G League
• Outmanned Lakeland Magic fall to Nets - Ivan Lambert - Lakeland Ledger