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Brooklyn Nets Done In By Cleveland Cavaliers Big Three

By Kenneth Teape

Jan 6, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles the ball around Brooklyn Nets guard Sean Kilpatrick (6) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 6, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles the ball around Brooklyn Nets guard Sean Kilpatrick (6) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Brooklyn Nets got crushed by the Cleveland Cavaliers big three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love on Friday night.

The Brooklyn Nets are mired in a stretch of poor basketball. They have gone 3-15 in their last 18 games, unable to gain any traction with Jeremy Lin constantly out of the lineup because of injury. With Lin sidelined the Nets are relying on a ton of young, inexperienced players along with Brook Lopez.

Lacking much firepower, it is no surprise the Nets are struggling to win games. It is even less of a surprise that they get crushed by some of the upper echelon teams in the NBA. That was the case when they faced off with the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night.

The Nets did their best to hang with the high-powered Cavaliers. They trailed by only four points after the first quarter in large part from an offensive explosion courtesy of Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic scored seven of his 23 points in the first quarter.

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But, the Cavaliers would eventually wear down the undermanned Nets, with their big three leading the way. Kevin Love returned tonight after missing some games because of a nasty stomach bug. He lost a lot of weight because of the illness but was able to produce against the Nets tonight.

Love had an off shooting night, going 5-of-16 from the field. But he knocked down 4-of-9 from deep and all three of his free throw attempts for 17 points. He also controlled the boards, pulling down 13 rebounds. Kyrie Irving also had an off shooting night, but the Nets just had no answer for him.

Kyrie Irving also had an off shooting night, but the Nets just had no answer for him. Irving poured in 32 points on 10-of-26 from the field, 3-of-9 from deep and connecting on all nine free throw attempts. He had multiple highlight reel plays, but one in particular over Spencer Dinwiddie stands out.

In addition to the 32 points and that highlight, Irving added four assists, three rebounds, and two steals. He did not commit a single turnover, which also speaks to how difficult of a night the Nets had slowing him down.

Leading the way for the Cavaliers against the Nets tonight was LeBron James. James had a relatively quiet game against the Nets on December 23rd, but this time around, he brought it to Brooklyn.

James scored a game-high 36 against the Nets in relatively easy fashion. He shot 14-of-20 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line. He would add nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals to round out his impressive stat line for the evening.

Even fully healthy the Nets would have had a difficult time keeping up with the Cavaliers. The Nets played a decent game, as they held the Cavaliers to 43.2 percent shooting and 27.3 percent from deep. But, they fouled way too much as Cleveland attempted 43 free throws, making 31, compared to only 19 attempts and 17 makes for Brooklyn.

Next: Brooklyn Nets: What Is Jeremy Lin's Timetable To Return?

Offense was not a problem for the Nets tonight. They had five players score in double-figures, led by the 23 from Bogdanovic. Rookie Caris LeVert had a good game, as he scored a career-high 19 points off the bench.

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