The Long Island Nets continue to roll. The Nets G League affiliate defeated the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks G League affiliate, 117-110. With the win, Long Island has won the first two games of a six-game road trip. The Nets are poised to make a mid-season turnaround and return to the G League playoffs.
Theo Pinson, who is on assignment from Brooklyn, had a stellar performance in Tuesday’s win. The second year Net scored 32 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and five turnovers on 4-of-7 shooting from deep and went 12-of-19 overall. Pinson, who started for Long Island, played 36 minutes in the win.
.@BrooklynNets assignee @tpinsonn put in impressive work on assignment with @LongIslandNets on Tuesday
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) February 5, 2020
32 PTS | 9 REB | 4 3PM | 3 AST pic.twitter.com/BVcTd07g4n
Justin Anderson, who has impressed since being traded to the Nets following his 10-day contract, put up another solid performance in Tuesday’s road win. Anderson recorded a double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists in a team-high 38 minutes of play.
Devin Cannady, who returned to the starting lineup, had a solid outing as well for Long Island. The 6’2” sharpshooter put his prowess on display, scoring 18 points hitting 5-of-10 from deep while missing his only two-point attempts.
FInally, the Nets new two-way, 6’4” point guard Jeremiah Martin had a well-rounded game with 13 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.
As a team, Long Island shot 39-of-87 (45 percent) from the field and went 14-of-38 (37 percent) from deep in the win. In addition to their consistent shooting, the Nets used the charity strike to their advantage, going 15-of-20 (75 percent). Despite the positive shooting, the team tallied 22 turnovers in the win.
Shaun Fein, still mixing his lineups,started Pinson, Cannady, Anderson, Deng Adel and Jonathan Kasibabu. Chris Chiozza, the Nets two-way guard, is with the parent club while John Egbunu (right ankle soreness), Joe Cremo (back soreness), and CJ Williams did not suit up.
After both teams exchanged baskets throughout the first quarter, the Nets slowly gained an edge midway through the second quarter. Long Island gained momentum and controlled the tempo of the game, focusing their offense inside the three-point arc.
The Herd struggled to defend the paint, especially Nets cutters down low. Despite struggling to defend in the closing half of the second quarter, Wisconsin took advantage of Long Island’s turnovers throughout the half. Although the Herd took advantage of the Nets turnovers, Wisconsin was not able to close out the first half with a lead.
At the half, Long Island led Wisconsin 59-56.
Long Island started the second half having it their way on the offensive end, especially from deep. The Herd struggled on switches and inside passes, leading to Long Island quickly running up the scoreboard, building a double-digit lead heading into the fourth.
The Nets started off the final twelve minutes of play using the shot clock to their advantage and continued to hit their shots, especially from deep. In addition to their hot shooting, the Nets played well on the defensive end and did a good job restricting the lane and inside the arc ball movement.
Wisconsin was able to pull close in the closing minutes of the game but the Nets offense continued to produce late while not losing their energy on the defensive end. The Nets closed out the game, winning their second game of their six game road trip.
Jemerrio Jones and Thanasis Antetokounmpo led the Herd with 20 each.
Long Island looks to stay perfect when they travel to the Sears Centre in Illinois to take on the Windy City Bulls on Friday, February 7.