The Nets, mired in a losing skid, have been frustrated and lacking confidence. The gut-punch they took Friday isn’t going to make that any better.
The Nets’ 131-125 double overtime defeat to the Grizzlies at Barclays Center marked their fifth straight loss. And while their end games have had more melodrama than a telenovela, it will be hard to top this one for opportunities lost and collapses committed.
A 10-point cushion in the fourth quarter gone. A seven-point lead with half a minute remaining in regulation flushed. A four-point edge in overtime wasted. And a 125-124 lead midway through the second overtime, the Nets failed to hold on to that one, too.
The Nets (8-15) have been tied or ahead in the fourth quarter of all but one of the games in this skid. But they simply haven’t figured out how to close.
After D’Angelo Russell (26 points, eight assists) put them up 125-124 with a reverse layup with 2:49 left in the second overtime, they didn’t get another point. The Grizzlies (13-8) scored the final seven points to hand the Nets their latest defeat.
“We’ve just got to figure it out, and play better to close it out. … I’d like to see us reward ourselves for playing well. It’s a little frustrating that we haven’t gotten over that hump, so I think we all feel that,” coach Kenny Atkinson said beforehand, admitting the losing had taken a mental toll on his Nets.
“Sure, all of us, your confidence takes a hit whether it’s getting stops or making shots or taking care of the ball. It does affect you. But this is the NBA, we have to be resilient enough to fight through it. There are tough periods during an NBA season, we’re going through it right now. Listen, [we have] a lot of home games coming up, so hopefully we can turn this thing around, because I think we’re all frustrated that we haven’t been rewarded with a ‘W’ in these past games.”
The Nets couldn’t stop or even slow Mike Conley, who had 37 points and took over in the late stages. Rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. added 36 points for Memphis.
DeMarre Carroll had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who have missed the injured Caris LeVert dearly since he gruesomely dislocated his right foot last month against the Timberwolves.
The Nets had flown into Minnesota for that game with a 6-7 record and had won three out of four. They had victories at Denver and over Detroit and Philadelphia, and the young core of LeVert, Russell and Jarrett Allen was looking legitimate. LeVert even had taken a quantum leap and was getting early All-Star buzz.
Then Nov. 12 happened.
The Nets are 2-8 since LeVert’s injury, with five of those defeats coming against teams with losing records.
The fourth quarter has habitually been their downfall, and it was again Friday.
The Nets had rallied from an 87-80 deficit with a 14-0 run. Carroll had seven points and three rebounds in the spurt, his basket putting the Nets ahead 94-87 with 7:53 to play. Spencer Dinwiddie hit a 3-pointer to give the Nets a 102-92 lead with 3:52 left in the fourth and a floating bank shot to make it 111-104 with just 33 seconds remaining in regulation.
But this being the Nets, they let Memphis close with the final seven points for force overtime. The Nets took a 117-113 lead there, but Jackson worked down low for a turnaround hook that cut Brooklyn’s lead to 117-115 with 35.4 seconds left in overtime. Dinwiddie missed a finger roll to give the Grizzlies the ball for a last shot, and Allen got caught out of position to let Conley saunter in for an easy tying layup.
Russell hit a 3, and after the Nets forced a Conley turnover with 2:59 left, Russell gave them a 125-124 lead. But Memphis took it back on a Conley jumper, and after three Russell misses, Hollis-Jefferson had an offensive rebound wrestled away by guard Shelvin Mack. Conley went to the stripe and sank two for a 128-125 Memphis lead with 19.9 seconds on the clock. The Nets never challenged.
This story was originally published by NY Post
via USAHint.com
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