NET DEARTH
Even Russell’s first start since Nov. not enough to stop skid
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — New lineup. Same old losing ways.
Even handing D’Angelo Russell his first start since November couldn’t shake the struggling Nets out of their malaise. They came out of the All-Star break the same way they went in — with a defeat.
The Nets tipped off the second half of the season with a 111-96 loss to Charlotte before 14,112 at the Spectrum Center on Thursday night. Their skid reached a season-worst eight straight, despite a solid return to the starting lineup by Russell.
“As a team, we played really hard. They made tough shots down the stretch, a few mental lapses as a team. But that’s what we’re trying to clean up,” said Russell, who had 19 points in his first start since suffering a knee injury on Nov. 11.
Russell had missed two months following arthroscopic knee surgery, and had come off the bench in 13 games since returning to the court on Jan. 19. But coach Kenny Atkinson finally took the kid gloves off and started Russell alongside Spencer Dinwiddie for only the second time all season.
It wasn’t enough against the Hornets (25-33), who were led by their own stellar guard play. Kemba Walker, who poured in a game-high 31 points, 22 in the second half, largely had his way with Dinwiddie, who was coming off a win at the AllStar Skills Challenge.
“Spencer struggled, quite honestly, on both ends,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I’m sure he was running around at the All-Star Game, and with all the travel, that’s not an excuse but I thought he was a little off his game. We need him to get back.”
Dinwiddie, who was slumping badly and looked tired going into All-Star weekend, wouldn’t use fatigue as an alibi. But after he finished with 12 points, nine assists and just one turnover (but a minus-23), and was torched repeatedly by Walker, Dinwiddie seconded Atkinson’s critique.
“Yeah, I agree with it. I’ve got to do a better job on Kemba to give our team a chance to win. I’ve got to be personally better. Our team played fairly well as a unit. I’ve just got to be better,” Dinwiddie said. “I’m not in the business of making excuses. Kemba made shots. He made plays for his team. That’s what he does. I just have to do better.”
There was plenty of blame to go around.
Dante Cunningham led the Nets with a season-high 22 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, but the Hornets stung them on the glass.
With Russell in the lineup, Atkinson shunted Allen Crabbe to small forward and 6-foot-8, 215-pound DeMarre Carroll to power forward in a Hobbit-esque frontcourt. That’s a tough task against Dwight Howard, and he bullied them for 15 points and 24 rebounds, as the Nets got battered 54-41 on the boards.
Russell knotted it at 55-all with the first basket of the third quarter. But the Nets promptly missed eight straight shots and allowed a 13-0 run.
“The game is full of runs,” Cunningham said. “We’ve got to be able to weather their run better and make a run of our own.”
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had seven points in that run, his finger-roll capping it for a 68-55 Charlotte lead with 7:29 left in the third. The Nets (19-41) never led again.
The Nets pulled within 70-66 on consecutive 3pointers by Crabbe and Joe Harris, and Cunningham’s corner 3 made it 80-77 early in the fourth. But they conceded a 9-2 run to fall behind by double-digits, and lost for the 12th time in 13 games.
With 22 games left, the Nets are hoping the Russell-Dinwiddie tandem kicks into gear.
“I think we complement each other,” Russell said. “I’m slowly getting back to myself. It’s a lot that goes into that. But the training staff’s done a great job getting me to this point and it’ll only get better.”