Yi Jianlian's 24 isn't enough for Nets to overcome Heat

Yi's 24-10 night wasn't enough to beat the Heat

Yi Jianlian has been up and down this season, but the Nets have been mostly down. Both started the season strongly, with Yi pouring in 17 points and 6 rebounds in their 95-85 defeat of the Wizards. But they followed this up with a 105-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors--and Yi came up dry with an 0-4 night in 17 minutes on the floor. 

The Nets dropped two of their next three after that, with Yi scoring 15, 12, and 2 points, although his rebounds increased with each game, to a peak of 11 against Indiana--on the same night when he scored just two points.

Both Yi and the Nets went into Miami last night, looking to steady both of their fortunes, but only one would succeed.

Yi had his best night as a Net, and one of his best since joining the NBA, pouring in 24 points on 7-11 shooting, adding 10 rebounds and 4 assists. All but the rebounds were season highs, and that only missed Sunday's performance by 1. He also hit a career-best five three-pointers in only six attempts, and racked up his second career double-double.

It looked like the Nets would also have a great night, as they led by 7 to start the fourth quarter, a lead they widened to 10 points with just under 6 minutes to play. 

Then Dwyane Wade decided to start playing, putting 14 points on the board in the last 4:28. With two three-pointers and two free throws, Wade scored eight points in the next 80 seconds, while the Nets couldn't find the net. Yi scored two points at the free throw line, but he wasn't really a part of the offense down the stretch. 

In fact, it was Yi's foul on Wade that sent the point guard to the line and gave the Heat the lead, 90-88, with 1:07 to play. The Nets would keep it close, trailing only by one for much of the remaining time, but they couldn't put themselves over the top and lost 99-94. It didn't help that their center, Josh Boone, missed three of four free throws in those final four minutes, but the game can hardly be hung on him.

With all the new blood on their team, the Nets are still learning to integrate newcomers like Yi and Bobby Simmons, the other part of the trade from the Bucks. Their backcourt of Vince Carter (22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) and Kenyon Dooling (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) weren't the problem, and Jarvis Hayes (12 points, 4 rebounds) gave them a spark off the bench.

More than statistics, the Nets will learn to play as a team down the stretch, and not give away the farm the way they did last night. Their next test comes Wednesday, when they face the Indiana Pacers at home, a good matchup, since they haven't lost to the Pacers at home in four straight games.