After travel chaos, Nets can't catch Mavericks in 113-106 home loss

NEW YORK — The Nets didn’t plan on spending their off day in Atlanta at an aquarium, but once Winter Storm Hernando turned into a full-blown nor’easter, normal stopped being an option.

Veteran forward Terance Mann helped rally the group for a trip to the Georgia Aquarium, a detour that turned a travel headache into something closer to a team day. It wasn’t some grand bonding exercise. It was boredom, mostly, and the simple reality that when you’re stuck, you can either stew or make the most of it.

“We were just bored in Atlanta,” Mann said. “And I know that [Jalen Wilson] had mentioned that they have a nice aquarium there, so I just figured that I’ll take everybody.”

Less than 24 hours later, the Nets were back at Barclays Center, trying to turn a day of snow totals and flight windows into something more familiar: a basketball game. Brooklyn’s charter finally left Atlanta Tuesday morning, the Dallas Mavericks arrived from Indianapolis later in the day, and by tipoff it was clear the league’s logistics machine had done its part. The Nets’ part was harder.

Brooklyn fell to the Mavericks, 113-106, dropping to 15-42 and extending its losing streak to five games. For a team that opened the season with a season-worst seven-game skid, it was another reminder that the calendar doesn’t care how chaotic the week has been.

The most striking thing early was how quickly Michael Porter Jr. tried to stabilize the group. After all the travel chaos, he gave Brooklyn the lift it needed, knocking down all three of his shots in his first nine minutes. He led all scorers after the first quarter, and the Nets shot 52.9% in the period. They still trailed.

Dallas, even without rookie phenom Cooper Flagg, looked like the more prepared team out of the gate, spreading offense across its 10-man rotation and shooting 58.3% to take a 36-29 lead into the second. In a matchup that tested the resolve of both teams, the Mavericks were sharper in the small places that matter. One extra pass. One extra rebound. One extra body on the glass. That theme carried into the half.

The Mavericks scored in bunches. The Nets did their best to keep pace. Porter was up to 16 points by intermission. Noah Clowney added 15, and Nic Claxton had 11 as Brooklyn stayed afloat through shot-making rather than stops. The Nets shot 60.5% in the half, a number that usually translates to control. Dallas somehow topped it at 64.4% and walked into the locker room up 76-64.

Seven second-chance points and a 21-14 advantage on the glass gave the Mavericks the extra possessions they needed to keep Brooklyn at arm’s length, even as both teams shot the ball exceptionally well.

The day’s travel story still hovered over everything, even as both coaches tried to strip it away as an excuse.

Nets head coach Jordi Fernández sounded almost energized by the odd routine, saying he loves game days and that it “feels like I’m in the G League.” He emphasized that the Nets knew Monday they weren’t traveling, allowing them to practice, rest and prepare. They watched film on the plane. They got home. They got treatment. And in his eyes, the circumstances were equal.

“Both teams are in the same condition, so there’s no excuses here,” Fernández said earlier in the evening.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, who has lived through plenty of travel-day weirdness, acknowledged the fatigue risk and the reality of flying on the day of a game. He also framed it simply: both teams landed at roughly the same time, both teams are young, and the challenge is dealing with it.

Brooklyn handled one part of that challenge better after halftime. Porter poured in seven more points in the third quarter, and newcomer Ochai Agbaji added six off the bench, helping the Nets win the period 27-23. Brooklyn committed just one turnover in the quarter, the kind of detail that can flip momentum when legs get heavy and decision-making starts to slip.

It wasn’t enough to erase the deficit, but it gave the Nets a chance. The gap stood at eight entering the fourth, and for the first time all night the game felt like it was sitting there, waiting to be grabbed. But they couldn’t get it done, even after cutting the deficit to four points with five minutes left. The Mavericks responded with a decisive final push that put the game out of reach.

Porter ultimately led Brooklyn with 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting, while fellow starters Clowney and Claxton added 20 and 16 points, respectively. Mann, the unlikely hero of Brooklyn’s snow delay, finished with 17 points off the bench.

Marvin Bagley paced Dallas with 20 points off the bench, leading six Mavericks in double figures as Brooklyn shot 53.3% for the game but allowed Dallas to connect at a 56.4% clip.

And the schedule ahead offers little relief. Brooklyn returns to Barclays Center on Thursday to face the San Antonio Spurs, then travels to Boston on Friday to meet the Celtics before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers. From there, the Nets head back on the road for back-to-back matchups against the Miami Heat, a challenging stretch for this team as the season winds down.