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You can’t win them all, but in the G League, you can take some positives out of a loss.
The Long Island Nets had their nine-game winning streak snapped Wednesday morning when the Grand Rapids Gold, the Nuggets G League affiliate, beat the Nets affiliate, 96-89, at Nassau Coliseum. Long Island is now 16-9 in fifth place but only a game and a half out of the top seed in the tight G League Eastern Conference standings. Playoffs begin April 5.
The positives were the Nets two bigs, Day’Ron Sharpe and Thon Maker. Sharpe notched 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks while shooting 6-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from distance in 30 minutes. Maker finished with a double-double: 15 points and 14 rebounds while going 3-of-6 from three in 24 minutes.
Long Island’s effort was led by guard Bryce Brown, who recorded 19 points, three rebounds and one assist in 30 minutes. However, Craig Randall II had a rare off-game tallying 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 37 minutes, but shot only 7-of-25 and 2-of-9 from deep. Ty Wallace, who’s been a big part of the Nets winning streak, finished with 14 points, but also had a tough shooting day, going 6-of-16 including 2-of-8 beyond the arc.
The game got off to a quick start shortly after 11 a.m. ET with the two teams going back and forth. Grand Rapids closed the opening period ahead by three, 24-21. Long Island battled hard in the second to close the gap, but the Gold went into the break ahead by four, 44-40.
Long Island worked to turn the tide in the third quarter, outrebounding the Gold by five, 16-11 but Grand Rapids outscored the Nets 25-17 in third and entered the fourth quarter, up by 12, 69-57. The Nets outscored the Gold, 32-27 and got within six twice, but it wasn’t enough,
Grand Rapids guard Trevon Duval led the way for the Gold with 21 points, five rebounds and nine assists in 40 minutes.
The Nets open a crucial five-game road trip Saturday against Delaware on Saturday, at 7 p.m. ET, returning to the Island on March 29 for a game vs. the Windy City Bulls.
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