Long Island Nets to open playoffs Tuesday night vs. Capital City Go-Go

The Long Island Nets lost to the College Park Skyhawks Saturday night in the Atlanta suburbs, 123-117, despite a combined 70-point night from Keon Johnson (33) and Davion Warren (34). The loss dropped Long Island to the fifth seed in the G League’s Eastern Conference playoffs.

Long Island will play the Capital City Go-Go, the Wizards affiliate and the fourth seed, in Washington Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. ET. The game will be telecast on Tubi, the free streaming service.

The top six teams in each G League conference qualify for the playoffs and the top two teams in each conference earn a bye. The playoffs are single elimination until the finals, which are a best-of-three series. The Osceola Magic earned the No. 1 seed in the East, while the Stockton Kings are the No. 1 seed in the West.

The Skyhawks took off early in the first quarter, jumping out to a 37-19 lead behind 15 points from Miles Norris. It was a tale of 3-point shooting. CPS made them, LIN did not. College Park caught fire from deep, making 15 first half threes to take a 66-50 lead into halftime. It marked the first half in College Park history the Skyhawks hit 15-or-more threes in any half.

Meanwhile, Long Island had zero makes from deep in the first half, missing 12 straight, marking the first half in Skyhawks history they’ve held an opponent to zero three-pointers.

The hot shooting continued for College Park in the third quarter, nailing its 22nd make from deep at the 46-second mark of the third, which broke the record for most three-pointers made in a game in Skyhawks history, which was previously set against Long Island back in December.

College Park held a double-digit lead for the majority of the fourth quarter until Long Island went on a 13-0 run from 2:23 to :40 seconds, thanks to 10 straight points from Keon Johnson, cutting the Skyhawk lead to 118-117. The Skyhawks would answer the Long Island run, closing out the game with three free throws from Robert Baker and ex-Long Island Net, Bowden, and a Joiner breakaway layup to put away the contest, 123-117.

Johnson, a Nets two-way, and Warren both recorded career highs and combined for 70 of Long Island’s 117 points. Johnson, a 6’5” guard who turned 22 earlier this month, and Warren, a 6’6” wing who’s 25, filled up the stat sheets. Johnson, who the Nets have had had come off the bench all season. went 13-of-21 for the game, including 2-of-5 from deep while adding five assists and four rebounds. Warren, who’s a free agent, shot 11-of-14, including 1-of-3 beyond the arc. He also had 13 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.

Both had highlight packages...

In 41 games, Johnson averaged 17.7 points on shooting splits of 53/37/79, just behind Jalen WIlson and ahead of Noah Clowney who it seems will be with Brooklyn the rest of the way. Johnson, a Tennessee product, also averaged 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals. He played four games with Brooklyn, averaging 7.0 points.

The Nets other two-way, 20-year-old wing Jaylen Martin, finished with 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting. Martin’s two-way deal extends through next season. He had two two-ways earlier in the season with the New York Knicks and finished the season with a 10.9 scoring average in 44 games between Long Island and the Westchester Knicks. G League veteran shooting guard Kyler Edwards was the only player in double figures for the Nets with 14. The 6’4” Edwards averaged 13.3 points for the season.

• Box Score: College Park Skyhawks 123, Long Island Nets 117 - G League
• Game Report: College Park Skyhawks 123, Long Island Nets 117 (with Video) - G League