Nets sorely miss Michael Porter Jr. in beatdown by Grizzlies

MEMPHIS — The Nets had to play without their leading scorer Saturday, as Michael Porter Jr.sat on the bench in street clothes. Brooklyn missed his offense in the worst way, falling behind early and never recovering in a 129-110 loss to Memphis before a crowd of 15,103 at FedEx Forum. Porter wasn’t injured, but was a healthy scratch for personal reasons.

Initially listed as questionable, the veteran forward was ruled out an hour before tipoff. The Nets offered no update on their top scorer or his timetable. “No, not yet.A personal situation came up as we were coming to the arena.

So that’s why it was announced late,” Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernández said.“We don’t have any more information right now.” Porter was notably on the bench watching his team play.

What he saw was the Nets stumble badly right out of the gate, already trailing 35-17 with 2:47 left in the first quarter after a Cam Spencer 3-pointer. After Brooklyn had clawed within eight — Julius Randle’s 3-pointer pulled them within 85-77 with 5:12 left in the third quarter — they got no closer. A Randle turnover killed the brittle Brooklyn momentum, and it quickly swung back the other way.The Nets coughed up a 16-1 run, with a Taylor Hendricks dunk putting them in a 101-78 hole with 40 seconds left in the third. The Nets didn’t have a rally in them in the fourth, falling behind by 26 after a Javon Small 3-pointer with 7:08 to play. Randle finished with a team-high 22 points and five assists, but had just four rebounds and was a minus-18.

Sharpe had a double-double with 16 points, 11 boards and five dimes, while rookie lottery pick Mikel Brown Jr.— who’d been out with an illness and hadn’t played since Nov.

7 — returned and logged 19 minutes. Memphis’ Cedrick Coward had a game-high 23 points, while Hendricks added 22 for a Grizzlies team that didn’t even have leading scorer Ty Jerome. Turns out they didn’t need him.The Nets weren’t good enough to take adv...