The Nets dropped their fourth straight game Monday, beaten by Cooper Flagg and their own sloppiness.
Their start was slow. Their shots were off. Their defense was sorry.
Add it all up, and the Nets suffered a 113-105 loss to Dallas before 18,632 at American Airlines Center in a game that had lottery implications — and was a stark reminder of just how important that lottery can be.
After being rested the night prior, Michael Porter Jr. returned with a game-high 28 points on 6-for-10 shooting from deep and nine rebounds. But no other Net mustered more than 14 as they were just 9-for-37 shooting from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, 2025 top overall pick Flagg had 27 points and five assists. The Nets doubled him but their rotations were too slow and sloppy. The rookie even shook off a twisted ankle in the third to make big plays in the fourth.
“He was exceptional,” Jordi Fernández said of Flagg. “I’m sure very fun to watch for a lot of fans. The sky’s the limit for this kid.”
When the Nets doubled Flagg, he kept finding Naji Marshall, who scored 12 of his 22 in the fourth quarter.
And even after the Nets fell behind by double-digits in the first quarter and 14 in the second, Porter hit a 3 to pull them within 96-93 midway through the fourth. But they got outscored 17-12 rest of the way by a Mavs team sans Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II.
“[Flagg is] a very talented player. We tried to send different looks at him just to get the ball out of his hands and get him to make quick decisions,” said Drake Powell, who scored 10 points in his second career start. “But ultimately that last stretch with the defense, that’s where we shot ourselves in the foot.”
The Nets (11-26) are fifth in the lottery standings, 1 ½ games behind Washington. They’re two ahead of Utah and Charlotte (pending the Hornets game Monday) and 2 ½ clear of the Mavs.
Day’Ron Sharpe (14 points, 12 rebounds) already had a double-double in the first half at 10:27 minutes played, the fastest in the league this season. But the Nets got outscored 22-8 in transition and 22-11 off turnovers, playing without Egor Dëmin, Cam Thomas and Ziaire Williams.
The Nets trailed 63-49 before they responded with a 9-0 run.
A Porter midrange jumper capped the run and cut the deficit to five.
It was 93-90 after Nolan Traore found Noah Clowney for a layup, and three again after Traore spotted Porter for a 3.
But down 105-100 after a Nic Claxton bucket, Flagg took over in a 7-2 run. His steal and dunk followed by his 3 made it 112-102 with 1:32 left.
“It just ultimately comes down to defense,” Powell said. “Obviously, crunch time, that’s a time where you’ve got to tighten the screws on the little things. I don’t think we did that, and that led to the outcome.”
