Mikel Brown Jr. missed out on the Nets’ first win of the season Sunday in Indiana, sitting as part of the team’s plan to manage the back injury that forced him to miss 14 games during his lone season at Louisville.
His return Monday — and his Madison Square Garden debut — didn’t go as he envisioned.
After contributing 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting to give the Nets the lead entering the fourth quarter, the No. 6 overall pick fell apart in the final quarter of the 103-90 loss, missing each of the four 3-pointers he took while failing to attack the rim.
“I think Mikel’s a rock star,” head coach Jordi Fernández said. “He’s gonna keep taking steps. And right now, we always want him to be aggressive, but he has the responsibility to run the team, and that’s a big deal. And you have to communicate. … Every shot that is good, every shot that is not good, it falls a little bit on you, right?”
Brown, who finished 1-for-8 on 3-pointers, is now shooting 31.6 percent from the field through his first five games with the Nets.
“I’m still growing and developing and learning,” Brown said. “I’m doing what I love every single night, and to be able to play in this type of environment, I’m just extremely blessed.”
The Garden didn’t forget.
Randle received cheers during the pregame introduction in his first game back in Manhattan since joining the Nets. Randle not only revived his career during his five seasons with the Knicks — earning two All-NBA selections and three All-Star Game selections during his tenure — he returned the Knicks to relevance by leading the franchise to its first playoff appearance in eight years, prior to Jalen Brunson’s arrival.
Randle, who with the Timberwolves had made two trips to the Garden after they acquired him in the deal that sent Karl-Anthony Towns here, finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds on 5-for-16 shooting.
“[It was] amazing, man,” Randle said. “I got a lot of love for the city, for the fans, had a lot of great memories here with the team, with my family. It was a big part of my life and my career, and [I’m] super appreciative of it.”
Egor Dëmin missed his third straight game with a right leg bone bruise.
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