FIGHT OR FLIGHT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Nets savored their first victory of 2017 Friday. One sloppy minute kept them from their first winning streak of the season Saturday.
After routing the Pelicans to snap their longest losing skid since moving to Brooklyn, the Nets fell just short of building on it in Charlotte. Despite a great third quarter, they fell sleep for one minute of the fourth and fell, 112-105, to the Hornets in front of 18,583 at the Spectrum Center.
The Nets left New Orleans with a hangover — that never has happened before — and dug themselves a quick 28-11 first-quarter hole against the Hornets. They rallied to take a 98-97 lead after Trevor Booker’s running layup with 3:32 left to play but coughed up seven quick, game-changing points as their NBA-worst record dropped to 9-34.
“We’re all a little upset with how we came out in that first half. I don’t think that’s what we’re looking for,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “At halftime, we challenged [them] to come out with more physicality, more energetic. I was happy the guys came out in the third quarter and responded and got themselves back in the game and had a chance at the end. … Too bad we couldn’t close it out.”
First Nicolas Batum (16 points, nine rebounds, six assists) saw Randy Foye trying to close out hard and threw up a wild heave from behind the arc to draw a foul. He did one better, as his shot rattled home, and he nailed the ensuing free throw for a four-point play.
Then Batum got all-too open for another back-breaking 3-pointer to push the lead to 104-98. Kemba Walker (16 points, six assists) added a 3 of his own to pad the cushion to nine with 2:13 left.
It was just a 1:19 span, but it obscured a team-high 30 assists, a rare strong third quarter and an otherwise solid effort.
“Actually he fouled me,” Foye said. “I was chasing him. He just stopped and popped me in my eye. At first, I thought it was a foul on us, and I guess when the ball went in, I heard the crowd going crazy. I’m just saying to myself, ‘Come on, man.’ It was light contact, but he created it.
“The next 3 [was huge]. Both of them were big shots. He came down and got the and-1 on me, put them up three. Then he came back and hit another one. It seemed like we were battling uphill.” That was the story of their night. Brooklyn played without Jeremy Lin (hamstring), Joe Harris (ankle) and Justin Hamilton (rest).
They got a game-high 24 points and five boards from Brook Lopez. Sean Kilpatrick, who lost his starting spot and was challenged to play better defense, got the nod with Harris out and finished with 13 points and five assists. Even newly signed Quincy Acy chipped in with 14 points. But it was an uphill fight.
The Nets missed 11 of their first 12 shots and coughed up 14 straight points to fall behind 14-4 early. That deficit swelled to 28-11 after Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (17 points, 14 boards) scored with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Nets mounted a 17-7 run to get back into the game, drawing within seven on Foye’s 3. They fell back again, down 60-46 at the half before a 35-21 third quarter pulled them even at 81-all.
But after a back-and-forth fourth, they fell just short.
“When you’re looking at the bigger picture, that’s definitely [what cost us], the first quarter, but obviously there were things we could’ve done differently at the end of the game as well,” Lopez said. “They made a lot of big shots we could’ve contested a little better.”