Nets lose to Clippers 87-78 in Las Vegas Summer League

The Brooklyn Nets (1-1) were riding high after beating the Indiana Pacers on Friday in the Las Vegas Summer League to the tune of 97-95 in overtime thanks to Keon Johnson’s game-winning bucket. Things changed on Sunday when Brooklyn lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 87-78 mostly due to the Nets not shooting the ball well.

The Nets shot just 38.9% from the field and 31.6% from three-point range as a team and that was with Johnson shooting 4-for-10 and Jalen Wilson shooting 4-of-8 from that distance. Johnson led the team in scoring with 27 points in his second big performance in as many games for a Brooklyn team looking for players to step up.

Noah Clowney had another solid outing for the Nets as he put up 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks while also appearing more comfortable this time around than he did last summer in his first NBA action. Clowney has been playing as the starting center which could be Brooklyn’s way of seeing if he can handle playing some center minutes after experiencing that kind of demand during this past campaign.

Wilson struggled on the offensive end as he went 4-of-14 shooting from the field where his only made shots were from deep despite being two days removed from dropping 25 points against the Pacers. Dariq Whitehead put up 10 points, but he still had a rough performance as he went 3-of-12 shooting from the floor, but the important part at this point is that he has looked more lively than he did in the 2023-24 season.