Amid a five-game losing streak, the Brooklyn Nets owned an opportunity to end the skid on the same evening they honored one of the greatest players in franchise history. On Vince Carter’s jersey retirement night, Brooklyn couldn’t overcome the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat, falling 106-97.
D’Angelo Russell led the Nets with 22 points and six assists, but a joint 42-point effort by Tyler Herro and Haywood Highsmith all but neutralized his output. With Carter and Julius Erving sitting courtside together, Jordi Fernandez’s squad got off to a rocky offensive start.
Just one of their nine first-quarter three-point attempts dropped as the team clearly lacked a true top-scoring option. Cam Johnson, sidelined for the game, watched from the bench wearing a North Carolina Carter shirt, a nod to the shared alma mater of both him and Vince Carter…