Jared McCain scored 21 off the bench and Chet Holmgren had 15 points and seven rebounds to help lift the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-86 home win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
The Thunder won for the third time in four games, while the Nets have lost three straight and six of their last eight.
Oklahoma City was again without reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is sidelined due to an abdominal strain, and Jalen Williams, who aggravated a right hamstring strain just before the All-Star break.
Michael Porter Jr. led Brooklyn with 22 points and nine rebounds but was just 1 of 9 from beyond the arc. Nolan Traore added 17 points and Day’Ron Sharpe chipped in 12 points and eight boards.
Brooklyn took a six-point lead, its largest of the game, with 2:26 left in the first quarter on Ochai Agbaji’s 3-pointer.
The Nets didn’t hit another field goal for nearly 11 minutes as the Thunder went on a 21-3 run to seize control.
Brooklyn missed 10 consecutive shots — eight from beyond the arc — while committing 12 turnovers during that stretch.
Oklahoma City turned those turnovers into eight points on the other end.
The Thunder then finished the first half on an 11-3 run to take a 17-point lead into the break.
The Nets scored just 10 points in the second quarter, tying their lowest-scoring quarter of the season.
Outscored 29-10 in the quarter, Brooklyn was just 3 of 17 from the field and 1 of 13 on 3-pointers with nine turnovers.
The Nets also scored 10 in the fourth quarter of its 120-66 loss to the Knicks on Jan. 21.
Brooklyn didn’t go away easily, though.
Oklahoma City stretched its lead to 20 early in the third before the Nets started chipping away at the lead with 28 points over the next eight minutes.
Brooklyn cut the deficit to eight late in the quarter and trailed by 10 heading into the fourth.
The Thunder quickly answered in the fourth, starting with an 11-3 run over the first three-plus minutes to stretch the lead back to 18.
The stretch included a pair of baskets from Nikola Topic, including his first career 3-pointer.
The 12th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Topic made his NBA debut in Oklahoma City’s final game before the All-Star break.
Topic missed last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament sustained before the draft, then was diagnosed with testicular cancer just before this season. He finished with nine points.
–Field Level Media
