POINT NOT TAKEN
Lin return to starting lineup not enough to inspire Nets to play hard
TORONTO — Jeremy Lin was back in the Nets’ starting lineup for the first time since Nov. 2. It wasn’t a clutch jumper or slick pass that was the image of Lin’s night, however, but a play on which he hustled back and four teammates hung him out to dry, refusing to play transition defense.
It typified the non-effort the Nets gave. And it encapsulated their 116-104 beating at the hands of the Raptors before a sellout crowd of 19,800 at Air Canada Centre.
“Just disappointed. Felt like we didn’t play as hard as we’re supposed to, and that’s never a good thing,’’ said Lin, who had 12 points and four assists in a bittersweet return to the lineup. “We didn’t do a good job of getting stops. They just did whatever they wanted, killed us in transition, they got to the free-throw line, they beat us and got offensive rebounds. We didn’t play with heart.”
Even acknowledging the absence of Brook Lopez — who rested with a ThursdayFriday back-to-back against the Warriors and at the Cavaliers looming — the Nets didn’t compete hard enough against the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors (20-8). And one play showed that with high-def clarity.
With 2:49 left in the half, Sean Kilpatrick turned the ball over to DeMar DeRozan, igniting a fast break. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Joe Harris and the rest of the Nets watched as Lin sprinted back alone to defend a 2-on-1. He did a great job to cut off DeRozan, but nobody else got back and DeRozan hit Kyle Lowry (23 points, eight assists) standing completely alone and unmolested under the basket.
“That play summarized the first half, and what we don’t want to do, how we don’t want to look, and how we don’t want to play,’’ Luis Scola said.
“That [play] is not what our program is going to be about,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I told the guys. We didn’t compete the way we needed to compete in the first half, and that’s just a fact.
“In the second half, guys took account and did a much better job. … In the first half, it just wasn’t good enough.”
That play was part of a larger game-deciding run.
The Nets (7-20) were down just 47-43 with 4:34 left in the first half on a 3pointer by Lin, who had missed 18 games with hamstring and back woes, and spent three more coming off the bench as he rounded into form. But after his 3, the Nets missed nine of their final 10 shots, committed three turnovers, and allowed a 17-3 run before halftime.
Trailing by 18 as the third quarter began, the Nets fell behind by 23 and never challenged again. Their leaky transition defense saw 17 turnovers get converted into 24 points, and the Raptors outscored them 20-9 on the fast break.
“I was upset at halftime and I told the team our inability to get back our defense just wasn’t good enough,” Atkinson said. “Our compete level in the first half wasn’t good enough.”
With Lopez and Isaiah Whitehead (a late scratch with a sore left foot, but slated to see a doctor Wednesday) out, Hollis-Jefferson had 19 points, but the Nets shot .396, just 10-of-35 from 3-point range.
“I take responsibility not running back,’’ Hollis-Jefferson said. “We’ve got to compete.”
Down 55-46 after a Trevor Booker 3 with 2:20 left in the first half, the Nets conceded the final nine points. They missed their last four shots, turned the ball over twice, and went into the locker room down 64-46.
“We didn’t have just one mistake, we had more than one. It wasn’t a good game overall,’’ said Scola, who got his first start for the Nets and had nine points in his return to Toronto, where he started 76 games last season. “We didn’t have a lot of intensity, we weren’t playing like we should’ve been.”
The Nets are just a halfgame ahead of the 76ers for last place in the East.
“None of us thought this was going to be easy. It’s a great challenge ... and we all knew that,’’ general manager Sean Marks said Tuesday on WFAN, adding of the defense “It’s definitely a concern for Kenny and our staff.”