NEW YORK, Feb 15 (US): In his first game as a Nets member, Seth Curry scored 23 points to lead Brooklyn to a 109-85 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
Brooklyn cut their losing streak in 11 games, and Curry was one of five players to finish in double digits. Bruce Brown had a season high with 19 points, six assists and five shootings. LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 19 points, Cam Thomas added 14 from the bench and Andre Drummond contributed 11 points.
Despite taking 26 points from De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento’s modest two-game winning streak is coming to an end. Davion Mitchell finished with 13 points while Donte DiVincenzo scored with 12 points.
The new-look Nets made their debut for two of the three players acquired from Philadelphia in a star-laden deal last Thursday with the 76ers. Curry and Drummond started guard and center, respectively. Simmons, the hub of the nets trade, sat on the bench in a beige jacket and black pants.
Even without a three-time All-Star, the Nets looked like a completely different team than the team that’s been relegated to the Eastern Conference rankings for the past three weeks. Offensively, Brooklyn’s spacing was greatly improved and the ball moved freely and fluidly from player to player.
The two best examples of Brooklyn’s improved pass occurred in the third quarter as Curry, and later Patty Mills created Drummond to superbly display assists.
Brooklyn finished 43 baskets in 25 assists. He hit the net 51.2% from the field and 34.6% from 3 and was a 19-point lead in the first, third and fourth quarters in a game the Nets were never behind.
Sacramento was limited to 34.4% shooting (31 of 90) overall and 25.7% (9 vs 35) of 3.
soapy effect
Two games have a microscopically small sample size, but Interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry believes Dumantas Sabonis has made a positive difference. Sacramento acquired the center from Indiana on February 8 in a six-man trade with Indiana.
“We played a lot of our offensive with him,” Gentry said.
Sabonis came into Monday night’s game averaging 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 46 combined games with the Pacers and Sacramento this season.
“I think our guys really enjoyed playing with him on the floor,” Gentry said. “I think our cuts were a lot better because I think they expect to get the ball in the goal cuts they do. It was just a real stabilizing factor for us, really.”
Simmons restart
The process of integrating Simmons into the Nets system has begun. After Simmons got into this trade with the 76 on February 10, coach Steve Nash said before the game, “he did his assessments” with the team during the morning shootout.
He also stressed that the 25-year-old’s placement in the squad would not be immediate.
“There has been a long period of activity outside of the NBA,” Nash said. “We’ll see how they put his program together and how long it takes.”
next one:
Kings: Visit Chicago on Wednesday evening.
Nets: Cross the East River to face the New York Knicks on Wednesday.