Traoré's assists and Claxton's scoring explosion propelled the Nets to victory, showcasing emerging stars against a determined Bulls squad.
The Brooklyn Nets pulled out a 123-115 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Monday night, and their next generation led the way with Michael Porter Jr. (right knee tendinitis) and standout rookie Egor Dëmin (rest) shelved for the night.
Rookie floor general Nolan Traoré's first career double-double of 13 points and a new personal best of 13 assists gave Brooklyn's shooters plenty of open looks, which the rest of the group took advantage of to finish 12-for-25 behind the three-point line as a collective.
Nic Claxton was utterly dominant at the rim. "Clax" poured in a career-high of his own with 28 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double, breaking an unreal 21 game streak without registering one.
To support the 1-2 punch of Traoré and Claxton in the pick-and-roll, Noah Clowney scored 22 points of his own and was responsible for a third of the Nets' made threes on the evening (4-for-6 from three-point range).
One of Traoré's rookie counterparts, Danny Wolf, proved to be an unstoppable force in short bursts for Brooklyn, not hesitating to bully mismatches on his way to an efficient 13 points on 71.4% shooting from the floor. Wolf's defensive aggression was also palpable, and his activity was reflected by his three blocked shots and two steals for the night.
Chicago's Anfernee Simons (23 points, seven assists) and Collin Sexton (21 points, five rebounds) did their best to drag the Bulls back from a 15-point deficit, but Brooklyn's red-hot shooting and 66-50 advantage in points in the paint led to the final result.
Brooklyn's defensive activity was evident from the outset, with Traoré and Wolf leading the way with excellent rim-protection. The former was especially outstanding, as Traoré used all of his 6-foot-3 frame to contest shots with perfect verticality at the rim.
On the other end, he was an absolute blur. His ability to read the defense on drive-and-kick opportunities was the deciding factor in what was an otherwise sloppy game.
Traoré's career-best 13 assists came with just three turnovers, and his great decision-making was backed up by a +17 in the plus-minus department, a mark equaled by Claxton as the team-high.
The Nets were rolling through the first half after taking a 60-54 lead into the halftime locker room, and Traoré's big night continued in the start of the second. Brooklyn scored on its first five consecutive possessions to begin the third quarter, with Traoré assisting on the first three straight buckets to break his career-high with nine assists. Incredibly enough, he'd broken new territory in that category with 22:40 of game time left.
Chicago never gave up, as Sexton's infectious and world-renowned energy pushed the Bulls to a 16-2 run late in the third quarter, helping to tie the game at 89 heading into the fourth.
Thanks to a 6-point burst by Ziaire Williams (11 points, two steals) in the first five minutes of the final frame, Brooklyn was able to regain control of the contest despite Chicago's scare. Simons continued to keep pace with his super shot-making, but the Nets' defense eventually pulled through in key moments.
To put the finishing touches on their second straight win, Traoré connected with Claxton one more time for a dunk with 17 seconds left, giving the Nets a 10-point lead.
With Claxton's figures, he tied Sam Bowie for 8th all-time on the Nets' career double-double leaderboard with his 86th.
Brooklyn now aims for their third straight victory against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, their final contest before the All-Star break.
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