Nets drop second consecutive game to Magic at Barclays Center

The Nets were unable to avenge Friday’s loss to the Orlando Magic and fell to them for the second straight game, this time 100-92 on Sunday at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn turned 22 Magic turnovers into 35 points. Unfortunately, it also committed 17 turnovers, which gave 33 points right back. Orlando scored 34 points off 20 Nets turnovers on Friday.
The Nets, who dropped to 9-12 this season, shot just 38% from the field and 25.8% from 3-point range in the loss. However, they certainly matched Orlando’s physicality, as 60 personal fouls were called between the two teams. The NBA average for fouls called in a game is 38.8.
“The game is judged by three people, and then we all have to go with it,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “There was a lot of frustration from myself and the players… We’re going to keep fighting whether it’s against five or more.”
Franz Wagner led Orlando with 20 points but did it on a 4-of-17 clip. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16. The Magic outrebounded Brooklyn 52-33 and outscored it 54-38 in the paint.
Cam Johnson scored a game-high 26 points for the Nets on 9-for-17 shooting. Dennis Schröder added 20 points in his return from a one-game absence and made his first three shots to start the fourth quarter. Trendon Watford (13 points) and Keon Johnson (12 points) led a bench unit that outscored Orlando’s reserves 31-26.
Ben Simmons, who played 11 minutes in the loss, suffered a left knee contusion in the first half and did not play in the second half. Nic Claxton was given a flagrant 2 foul and ejected after fouling Wagner with 18.1 seconds left.
“I was just trying to see if I could go and then it was getting to be too much,” Simmons said. “It’s been something that I’ve been dealing with for the last year and a half, so just have to monitor it.”
The Nets return to action on Monday against the Chicago Bulls at United Center.