The Brooklyn Nets trailed 68-48 at halftime on Friday night.

They had just been victimized by one of those stretches from a very spry Kawhi Leonard, all-encompassing dominance that decided the game in the second quarter. The Nets actually won the first quarter, which looked and surely felt nice after getting 30-pieced by the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

In a very courteous gesture to the beat writers, Brooklyn wasted no time letting us know which direction the game was headed in the third quarter. Turnover, James Harden pull-up, turnover, Kawhi Leonard pull-up. Jordi Fernández timeout. The innocent promise of the offseason inches closer…

Nets down 20 at halftime. Start the 3Q with two turnovers, and LAC is just messing around.Jordi calls a timeout.

Michigan State game looks good tho pic.twitter.com/26id9yGQgE

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) March 29, 2025

It wasn’t as ugly as these two teams’ first matchup in Los Angeles, a 126-67 defeat that was the most lopsided in Nets history, but only in a literal sense. Brooklyn would lose this game — again, a game in which they had won the first quarter — by 32 points.

“Who do you want to be?” asked Jordi Fernández in postgame. “It goes down to, you know, we have high expectations on how we want to do things, and how we want to compete … I gotta find a way to engage our players better, to play the right way, and that’s what we’ve done so far. Whether you win or lose, you play the right way with the right intentions.”

Harden and Leonard were in pickup-mode for the game’s second half, as two of the most talented players ever just let it eat. The ex-Net scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Leonard dropped 31/6/2/4/2 on 10-of-14. Ivica Zubac shot 9-of-9, for good measure.

Some of you will be interested to know that Ben Simmons, who did not receive a ‘thank you’ graphic from Brooklyn on the video board and heard booing late in the game, missed all three of his shots. Some of you will not…

As for Brooklyn, their end-of-bench, end-of-season characters provided the most excitement. Gonzaga legend Drew Timme, making his NBA debut after signing his first NBA contract, posted an 11-and-10 double-double.

Drew Timme kept it real, postgame: “I mean, I was nervous as crap out there, but it was awesome, you know? It was a dream come true. And I like this feeling. I don’t want it to end, so I gotta keep working hard.”

Said Jordi Fernández of what stood out about his newest player: “Just being in the right spot every time, having a great feel. You know, you can tell why he was the college player that he was.”

Two-way player Tyson Etienne entered in the fourth quarter, scoring his first eight career points as well, featured in a lineup alongside, Timme, Maxwell Lewis, Reece Beekman, and Tosan Evbuomwan. Even Dariq Whitehead, who scored five points, was too accomplished for such a stage.

So, not only did Timme debut on Friday night, but he was second on the Nets in minutes with 25. Tanking? Perhaps. But it’s not like any of the starters, led by Keon Johnson’s 13 points, deserved to play much more. The weight of expectations, or lack thereof, has finally set in at Barclays Center.

(Jalen Wilson played 28 minutes, either a worrying indicator of his status on the team, or a reward for playing hard on a lifeless evening.)

In sum, Brooklyn shot 37/30/77 on Friday night, quite different than the Clippers’ 55/51/89. Even Patty Mills got in the game for the visiting side, and he even caught a heater, hitting three 3-pointers in mega-garbage time.

With one minute left, some of the C-team Nets doubled Mills to get it out of his hands. Can’t let the old man embarrass you on the your home floor, right? Later in the possession, Mills got the ball back and was fouled on a 3-pointer. The aging Aussie scored 14 points in his seven minutes of action.

Final Score: Los Angeles Clippers 132, Brooklyn Nets 100

Milestone Watch

It’s Drew Timme night!

• He became the fifth Net to record a double-double in their NBA debut. He joins Terrence Williams, Derrick Coleman, Buck Williams, and Calvin Natt.
• Ziaire Williams completed the first four-point play of his career in the first quarter.
• Cam Johnson’s first 3-pointer of the game was his 158th of the season, moving him into a tie with Kerry Kittles (1996-97) for 11th place in Nets single-season history.

Drew Timme introduced

Prior to the game, the man of the hour spoke to assembled media, discussed what he’s learned in his brief time since leaving Gonzaga, what makes the Long Island Nets unique within the G League, and more.

“You gotta grab the bull by the horns,” said Timme, when asked for the most important lesson he’s learned as a pro. “I think my first year especially, I kinda came in a little more passive and, ‘oh, let’s see what happens. Yeah, I’m not gonna assert myself as much, I don’t wanna ruffle too many feathers.’”

Clearly, that’s since changed, as he averaged 23.9 points per game in 29 appearances with Long Island, including a 50-piece in the week before signing his NBA contract. Naturally, he gave much of the credit to a Long Island coaching staff spearheaded Head Coach Mfon Udofia.

“You know, the G is not the prettiest thing around, but it motivates you to work hard. And the staff down there is amazing. They’re great, they know what to do. They know how to get you to where you want to go, and they’re on you every day, and might be annoying sometimes. But on the whole, it’s great. And you know, those guys really helped me get to where I am right now. So I’m very appreciative.”

Next Up

A back-to-back for the Brooklyn Nets, and the potential for a real tank-off. They’re traveling down I-95 to face the Washington Wizards on Saturday night, with tip-off scheduled 7:00 p.m. ET.