Brooklyn Nets player grades: Nets allow 153 points in embarrassing loss

The Brooklyn Nets visited the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday and lost 153-121. The Nets came into Tuesday’s game having won four of their past six games – but what was a resurgent defense delivered one of the worst performances in team history. The Nets suffered their worst loss of this young season and the game wasn’t close after a few minutes passed in the second quarter.

Nets forward Kevin Durant scored 27 points and dished out six assists while Nets guard Edmond Sumner scored 18 points and had two steals. Ben Simmons had 11 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes while wing Yuta Watanabe had 11 points.

Kings guard Terence Davis had an uber-efficient 31 points and swiped three steals while forward Domantas Sabonis had 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists while having the offense run through him. The second quarter is where the game was lost for the Nets.

With 9:11 left in the second quarter and the score tied 40-40, the Kings proceeded to go on a 16-0 run that blew the game open. For almost six minutes, the Kings did not miss a shot while the Nets missed nine of 10 shots in an utterly disappointing effort.

Here are the Nets’ player grades against the Kings on Tuesday:

Kevin Durant: B

Durant had his typical all-around game against the Kings and took advantage of every matchup he had. The 10-time All-NBA player had success driving to the rim either for athletic finishes or drawing fouls. The Nets started losing the game when the Kings began sending additional players to Durant, forcing him to rely on teammates that struggled to hit shots tonight.

Royce O'Neale: D

O’Neale did not do much of anything tonight as he struggled to find an offensive rhythm or guard the Kings’ backcourt duo of De’Aaron Fox and Kevin Huerter. The former Baylor alum looked lost on the floor as he struggled to make plays on offense and found himself at times throwing the ball to the Kings or out of bounds.

Nic Claxton: C-

Claxton gave a valiant effort against the Kings, but he proved to be no match for Sabonis in the paint. Claxton did what he could to prevent Sabonis from backing him down under the rim, but when that didn’t work, he tried to front Sabonis to no avail as he ran into foul trouble. With Sabonis being the focal point of the Kings’ offense, all Claxton could do was hope that Sabonis didn’t post him up.

Joe Harris: D-

Harris once again struggled to get anything going on either side of the floor. Harris’ shot is ice-cold right now and when his shots aren’t falling, it’s hard for Harris to make an impact on the floor. Harris gave his usual great effort, but even that couldn’t help stop the onslaught of the Kings’ offense.

Edmond Sumner: B-

Despite it being in a losing effort, Sumner had a good game. He helped provide some scoring when no other Net outside of Durant could and he played his usual stout defense. Sumner is limited when it comes to creating for others and it showed on Wednesday when he was unable to consistently make the Kings pay for doubling Durant.

Ben Simmons: B

It may sounds like moral victory talk, but Simmons had his best game of the season. Simmons’ performance on Wednesday is not being measured by numbers, but by feel. For the first time this season, Simmons looked confident on the floor and we finally saw a glimpse of who Simmons was during his best days when he was able to control the pace and provide versatility in almost every facet of the game.

Seth Curry: C+

Curry hit a few shots, but was unable to string anything together offensively like he did against the Clippers and Knicks. Curry provided some spectacular pull-up shooting, but he did not have much of an impact outside of that as the Kings abused him on their dribble-drives and pick-and-roll actions.

Yuta Watanabe: B-

Watanabe was playing well while the game was close in the first half. He provided some timely outside shooting and was able to use his length and athleticism to bother some of the Kings guards. Watanabe was actually one of the bright spots for the Nets as his energy helped keep the Nets in the game for as long as they did.

[listicle id=48344]

Story originally appeared on Nets Wire