Shorthanded Nets not fit for the Kings

The Nets needed a 19-point comeback to overcome the lowly Pistons Saturday night. Shorthanded, playing without Nic Claxton, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Smith Jr. on Sunday, there would be no such rally in a 107-77 loss to the Kings at Barclays Center.

“We were shorthanded, so everybody was going to have to play extended minutes,” Trendon Watford said.

It was never a close game after the opening minutes of regulation. The Nets trailed by 10 points after one quarter and were down 25 points by halftime. They were able to trim Sacramento’s advantage to 14 points by the end of the third quarter, but three quick turnovers by Watford, Cam Thomas, and Lonnie Walker IV pushed the Kings’ lead back to 20 and Mike Brown‘s team never looked back, closing the game on a 21-11 run.

Thirty-three points proved to be the Nets’ largest deficit Sunday night. They committed 17 turnovers, which led to 22 points for Sacramento. They were also outrebounded, 54-46, and outscored 26-7 in transition. The Kings’ reserves bested the Nets’ depleted bench, 42-26.

The Nets’ 77 points scored set a new season low and tied for the third-fewest scored by an NBA team this season.

“Man, I think they’ve just been together for so long,” Mikal Bridges said of the Kings. “You know they’ll have rough times, but they’ll figure it out; they play multiple minutes in games together. So, you know, they’ll just always figure it out. You’ve got guys like De’Aaron and Sabonis, you’ll figure it out”

The Nets fell to 31-48 with the loss. And even though they have already been eliminated from postseason consideration, they have still won five of their last eight games.

“We have three games left, so we just have to get better every game, individually and as a team,” Watford said. “Got a big win yesterday, got a big win against the Pacers. So I think we’re just trying to get as many wins as we can and try to get better collectively and individually. So I think that’s one of the biggest things we can take away from these next three games.”

Rookie center Noah Clowney had been on a tear over his last two appearances entering the night, which earned him his first career start against Sacramento. His latest “welcome to the NBA” moment was a trial by fire against Domantas Sabonis, and Sabonis dominated the matchup, finishing with 18 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists.

Clowney scored just seven points after reaching double figures in each of his last two games entering the night but did haul in a team-high 10 rebounds.