Liddell became the surprise performer for Brooklyn against Milwaukee.
The Brooklyn Nets sent a new message: They're out to end the season strong.
With no tanking involved either.
The Nets turned to EJ Liddell who emerged as the surprise leading scorer with 21. That performances energized the 96-90 upset against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
Liddell delivered his output in 21 total minutes. He hit 7-of-9 field goals and two from behind the arc.
Consider head coach Jordi Fernandez pleased with the effort of Liddell and the team.
"I'm very happy with how the team played. We played the right way and with the right intentions. That's how you give yourself a chance to compete and get a win," Fernandez began with reporters.
He also let it be known that his plan wasn't made to go easy on the Bucks.
“I didn’t make it easy for all these guys with different lineups. All these different groups that may not be as comfortable together, but they played the right way," Fernandez said. "We're playing extremely hard. That’s positive because they’re taking advantage of their minutes and we’re getting better.”
Liddell wasn't the lone highlight for the Nets.
Ben Saraf dropped 19 points through 5-of-13 shooting. He also grabbed five rebounds.
Forward Malachi Smith and guard Drake Powell chipped in 11 points apiece for the Nets. Tyson Etienne added nine points for Brooklyn.
Brooklyn even got out-rebounded 44-32 against the Bucks. They also watched the Bucks' bigs swat seven shots compared to Brooklyn's four blocks.
The Nets, however, became aggressive with collecting steals in grabbing 11 total. Milwaukee coughed the basketball up a total of 19 times, while the Nets only committed 10 including scoring 11 off the turnovers.
Brooklyn pounded Milwaukee down low, hitting 46 points in the paint compared the Bucks' 36.
Obviously the win looks great on paper for Brooklyn. But does impact the NBA Draft race.
Brooklyn began to lose its probability grip on landing the top overall pick. The franchise slipped to third before the Bucks game. This win now makes them 20-59 overall with three games left.
Brooklyn currently has one of the easiest schedules left among teams linked to landing the No. 1 pick in the draft. The Nets still face the Indiana Pacers on Thursday who are also on the same boat. Then it's a rematch against the Bucks before closing out against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
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