The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 148-144 in double OT. Prayers up to Jusuf Nurkic who suffered a gruesome leg injury in double OT tonight. That’s about as bad as an injury can get. Speedy recovery to him. Focusing towards the game, this was an absolute heartbreaker for the Nets. They had so many chances to win this game, but they missed too many free throws and made too many mental mistake. Although Dlo had a ton of points, he turned the ball over way too much. Spencer Dinwiddie’s mental lapses in regulation and double OT also badly hurt the Nets. Dinwiddie fouled Seth Curry with 6 seconds to go when they were up 1, and then fouled Rodney Hood with 30 seconds to go down 3 in double OT. Dinwiddie could’ve forced Curry into a tough game winning shot in regulation, and the Nets could’ve stopped Portland and had a chance to tie the game up in double OT. Dinwiddie wasn’t the only one who made mistakes, but his hurt the most. Brooklyn and Portland came out even in the first half, as the two were tied at the half. Portland was up 4 after 1, but the Nets came back and tied the contest up. Portland once again came out strong in the third quarter, outscoring the Nets 33-28. The Nets went into the 4th down 5, but they immediately erased the Blazers’ lead. The Nets played very well for much of the 4th quarter, even holding a double digit lead with just under 5 minutes to go. Portland came storming back, and the Nets couldn’t hit a shot. Brooklyn was up 1 with 13 seconds to go before D’Angelo Russell was stripped by Seth Curry and Curry went 1-2 to tie the game up with 3.5 seconds to go. Dlo nearly banked in a three for the win, but it rimmed out. The Nets once again had a horrible last second inbounds play where a player was forced into a very difficult shot. Kenny and the coaching staff need to come up with better last second inbound plays.

The first OT was like a heavyweight fight, both teams trading blows. Portland was up 2 with just over 10 seconds to go before Dlo hit a wide open layup to tie the game up. The Blazers had an even worse last second play than the Nets, and Dame casually walked the ball up with 8 seconds to go and then heaved an impossible shot. Portland came out hot in double OT, and because Jarrett Allen and Ed Davis both fouled out, they abused the Nets on the glass. Jared Dudley was forced to guard Nurkic, and it went as expected. Portland wanted to win badly for Nurkic after he went down, and they got extremely hot after Nurkic went down. The Blazers took a 7 point lead with just under a minute to go, but the Nets came storming back. Back to back threes by Carroll and Harris made it a 3 point game with 30 seconds to go before Dinwiddie’s horrible foul. Portland didn’t miss their free throws, and the Nets lost. This game especially hurt for the Nets because they could’ve finished the West Coast part of the trip .500. It’s still not a lock that the Nets make the playoffs, as Orlando won their 6th game in a row tonight and Miami is 7-3 over their last 10. It will be a dogfight till the end for Brooklyn, and tonight would’ve helped their playoff chances tremendously. Brooklyn will wrap up their brutal 17 day, 7 game road trip in Philadelphia on Thursday. Look for this Nets team to be hungry for a win because tonight really hurt. Brooklyn has already beaten Philly twice this year, and a third time is not impossible.

Multiple Nets players contributed in the box score tonight. The Nets leading scorer was D’Angelo Russell, who finished with 39 points 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Russell did turn the ball over 6 times which definitely hurt the Nets, but his mid range game was on point all night long. Spencer Dinwiddie had a good offensive night, recording 22 points on 6-15 shooting. Dinwiddie was quiet in the first half (just 6 points) but he came on strong late. Jared Dudley (15 points and 5 rebounds) and Caris LeVert (16 points and 7 assists) chipped in some of their best games of the season. Dudley’s impact on the Nets tonight cannot be expressed in the box score, as he was savvy and setting picks all night long. It was also nice to see LeVert have a good game, as his shot and overall confidence looked much better tonight. Hopefully LeVert put together 2 solid games in a row on Thursday. Lastly, DeMarre Carroll (18 points and 5 rebounds) and Ed Davis (6 points and 14 rebounds) chipped in very good games for the Nets. It was awesome to see Ed getting some appreciation from the Portland fans, who absolutely love him. Ed’s a quiet guy, and it’s always nice to see the good guy get some love.

Portland was led by the duo of Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic. Lillard had his typical first team all NBA game, finishing with 31 points and 12 assists. Lillard has carried the Trail Blazers ever since CJ McCollum went down with a knee injury. Lillard hit big shot after big shot, and carried Portland to a victory. Jusuf Nurkic was unstoppable in the paint, finishing with 32 points and 16 rebounds on 13-24 shooting. Before his injury, Nurkic was bullying every big man the Nets threw at him and flat out dominating. Hopefully Nurkic can return to this form when he recovers from an all time horrific injury. Lastly, Nets killer Enes Kanter (12 points and 10 rebounds) and Seth Curry (20 points on 6-13 shooting) were crucial in the Blazers’ victory.

What’s Next?

Brooklyn wraps up their road trip in Philadelphia Thursday night, while the Blazers travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls on Wednesday.

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