Brooklyn’s Noah Clowney joined Nic Claxton and Michael Porter Jr. Wednesday in street clothes.
Are the Nets joining several others in the shameless tank race?
While Porter had always been ruled out against Indiana, Claxton had been downgraded from questionable to out with right hip soreness.
Claxton was coming off a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds a game earlier against Chicago.
But after Clowney had been listed as probable with a sprained left ankle, the Nets said he tweaked it during pregame warmups and was a late scratch.
“It’s probably just the result of [Claxton] playing extremely hard, playing over 30 minutes and having a great game,” coach Jordi Fernández. “It’s important we keep him healthy, important he goes into the break, gets his body right, and when he comes back he’s full go.”
Porter sat a second straight game with right knee tendinitis, and four of his past seven.
Of course, the Nets have heretofore been unwilling to even approach the level of shamelessness that several of their rivals in the tanking race have. They faced a third straight team operating with a skeleton crew, the Pacers playing without Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin.
First-round pick Nolan Traore is the first Nets rookie with at least 20 points and eight assists since Terrence Williams on April 9, 2010.
He’s quickly building chemistry with Egor Dëmin. Wednesday was the first time they both had five assists in the same game. It was their sixth time starting together.
“It’s been really cool. Using Nolan’s speed opens up everything for everybody, not just me. His ability to get into the paint and spray the ball or finish is amazing,” Dëmin said. “It helps us a lot and we play faster. I think that’s going to be big.”
Day’Ron Sharpe’s 19 points tied a season high. … Rookie Ben Saraf tied his career high with 12 points.
Former Nets big man Buck Williams was named a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.
Williams — the team’s all-time leading rebounder — and the other finalists will be put forward to the Honors Committee to be considered for election. The new class will be announced April 4.
Brooklyn celebrated the Chinese New Year on Wednesday, including a halftime performance by Will Liu.
“As an organization we’re excited to support the culture. The Year of the Horse brings great energy, not just into the building but to all the fans,” Fernández said. “We’re very happy to embrace that part of the culture and make it a special day.”
