Michael Porter Jr. sets career milestone with wild quarter, but Brooklyn falters late in Magic loss

Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. turned in the best quarter of his career to start the Orlando Magic on Friday. Still, a game that looked like a turning point for the 6-foot-10 forward The struggling Nets ended up losing 105-98.

Porter Jr. dished out six assists in the first quarter of the loss, tying his career high for a complete game and leading Brooklyn to a season-high 16 points. The seven-year veteran tied his career high with his seventh sack early in the second quarter. He added 15 points and six rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from three in the first half.

However, Porter Jr.’s magic disappeared in the fourth quarter, and with it went any chance of a Nets victory. After adding seven points in the third quarter, the 27-year-old was ice cold in the fourth, shooting 1-0f-6. Brooklyn led 98-94 with two minutes remaining, but missed its final five shots as Orlando allowed an 11-0 run to close.

“I thought my teammates played great … I told them, this is on me. I feel like I didn’t play down the stretch,” Porter said IES Network. “This is on me. I have to play better and make plays to help us. Obviously, we win as a team, we lose as a team, but yeah, I feel like this one was on me to be up four with 1:30, two minutes left, I have to try to get better. So I just told everybody my mistake.”

“We played a pretty complete game, but fourth quarters, you know … You’ve got to play down the stretch. I missed some easy ones that I had to make, and I’ve got to help settle down and put in a good set to get some easy looks. And obviously, you’ve got to give those guys credit, they hit a tough 3-pointer in a row, but definitely in a row.”

While Porter Jr. couldn’t get the job done offensively in the final frame, the Nets continued to deny them.

Rebounding plagues the Nets during a late-game collapse against the Magic

Orlando outrebounded Brooklyn 48-36 and won the battle for second-chance points 25-5. Porter Jr. grabbed 11 rebounds. However, the starting center Nic Clacton he managed just five and allowed a huge offensive rebound down the stretch.

With the Nets leading 98-94 with 1:58 left, Franz Wagner missed a free throw, but Wendell Carter Jr. outscored Claxton for an offensive rebound. Tristan da Silva drained a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Wagner to put Brooklyn away.

“Yes, that was on me,” Clacton said IES Network. “Wendell, he passed me when I came out. So, I’ve got to get better with that. I’ve just got to get better at defensive rebounds, for sure. We battled. I battled. That’s definitely a point of emphasis. And that possession really hurt us.”

Claxton is averaging just 4.5 defensive rebounds per 36 minutes, the third fewest among the 35 centers who have played over 250 minutes this season. The Nets are last in defensive rebounding percentage this season, 3.5 points behind the 29th ranked Milwaukee Bucks.

“The key to the game was defensive rebounding. We fought as a group. It’s not one person’s job, it’s a team effort,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “You look at the second chance (points) and it’s 25-5 in a seven-point game. We’re up by four points and we miss the free throw, they win that possession and then make some crazy threes. … But we control what we can control. That defensive rebound. We’ve got to clean those things up.”

Porter Jr. finished with 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting with 11 rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers. Ziaire Williams added 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Claxton scored 13 points, while Terrence Mann and Noah Clowney chipped in 12 points apiece.

The Magic were without Paolo Bancherowho suffered a groin strain during the Knicks’ game on Wednesday. Wagner led Orlando with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists on 7-of-17 shooting. Da Silva added 22 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from three, while Desmond Bane had 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting.

The the loss drops the Nets to 1-11their worst start since 2009-10 when they opened the year 0-18.