|
 Bogdanovic tried but fell short and it was the only thing to go
wrong on the best night of his career.
"I tried but then I missed a couple of shots and I was all right, 40
is pretty good too," Bogdanovic said.
Bogdanovic wound up getting a career-high 44 points while setting
one franchise record and matching another in the Brooklyn Nets'
131-114 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
Bogdanovic had the most points by a Nets player in Brooklyn,
surpassing Deron Williams' 42-point game on March 8, 2013, against
Washington.
He equaled the most points by a foreign-born Nets player, set by
Drazen Petrovic on Jan. 24, 1993, against Houston and also had the
most points by a Nets player against Philadelphia, surpassing Vince
Carter's 43 points.
"I didn't know honestly that he scored 44," Bogdanovic said. "I was
surprised. I thought he scored more. So I'm really proud to tie his
record."
 Bogdanovic made his first nine shots and finished 17 of 27 overall
while scoring in a variety of ways. He made nine layups and scored
17 fast break points while also hitting four three 3-pointers.
"He did it in a variety of ways," Brooklyn center Brook Lopez said.
"That's definitely what he's capable of. I can't say I'm not
surprised honestly. We've seen him get super hot before. He just got
a lot more looks tonight."
Bogdanovic started with 17 points as the Nets raced out to a 32-15
lead in the opening 12 minutes. He matched his previous career high
of 24 at halftime when the Nets had their most productive first half
since March 28, 2003 at New York and took a 71-51 lead.
"I started the game a couple of easy free throws, easy buckets on
the fast break," Bogdanovic said. "I had 15 or 17 after the first
quarter so I realized maybe tonight is my night to get a career high
in the NBA."
He opened the second half by hitting two free throws and surpassed
his previous career high of 28 with a 3-pointer at the 8:20 mark,
giving the Nets an 82-60 lead. Bogdanovic had 38 points through
three quarters as Brooklyn held a 100-83 lead.
Bogdanovic then broke Williams' mark and matched Petrovic with an
eight-foot turnaround fadeaway at the 6:53 mark of the fourth. The
hoop came moments after the 76ers were within nine and it gave the
Nets a 112-99 lead.
"Bogdanovic held us together, Brooklyn interim coach Tony Brown
said. "He had a huge night. It was great to see him shoot the ball
the way he did and we kind of rode his back a little bit."
[to top of second column] |
Besides Bogdanovic's career night, four others reached double
figures for the Nets, who have two losses to the 76ers this season.
Sean Kilpatrick added 19 points, Lopez had 18 and 10 rebounds while
Thaddeus Young collected 14 and a tied a career high with 16
rebounds.
Philadelphia opened the game with an Ish Smith 3-pointer but it was
all downhill from there. The 76ers were unable to stop Bogdanovic
and also unable to score, missing 10 straight shots and 20 of their
first 26.
"I'm sure we'll go back to the tape and say we could have done
better but I just think a large part is he is just a big wing and we
had a hard time matching up." Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said.
"We ran out of bodies to match up on him but it shouldn't take away
from the great game he had.
Injuries limited the 76ers to 10 available players. Isaiah Canaan
scored 20 points, Smith, Noel and Nik Stauskas added 18 apiece on a
night when Philadelphia set a season high in points allowed.
"Our transition defense was terrible," Noel said. "We should have
done a better job of finding Bogdanovic. He got out and was a
factor."
NOTES: Brooklyn interim coach Tony Brown did not comment about a
Yahoo Sports report stating the Nets were going to sign C Henry Sims
to a 10-day contact. Brown did say he discussed names to fill the
open roster spot with GM Sean Marks and that Sims was among those
mentioned. Sims played 99 games for Philadelphia in the previous two
seasons and coach Brett Brown said he was among the players whose
professionalism stood out to him with the 76ers. ... C Willie Reed
(sore left knee) sat out for Brooklyn. Fs Robert Covington
(concussion), Jerami Grant (concussion) and Richaun Holmes (strained
right Achilles) sat out for Philadelphia. Grant is expected to
return this weekend, Covington has not passed the concussion
protocol test and Holmes could return when Philadelphia begins a
four-game road trip next Monday.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
