SAC' LUNCH
Nets are fodder for Kings in failed first test to start stiff homestand
The new-look Nets are getting a lesson in what it takes to play important games down the stretch.
And according to head coach Jacque Vaughn, they took another one from Thursday night’s 101-96 loss to Sacramento in Brooklyn.
“We’ve got to try to put four quarters together,’’ Vaughn said after his team dropped its second straight. “In the second quarter, there was a 13-point difference [Sacramento] took advantage of. We’ve got to lock in each quarter.”
Despite that, the Nets still had a chance to pull out a win, as Mikal Bridges tried to put the Nets on his back in the final minutes in front of a sellout crowd of 18,172 at Barclays Center.
Down 17 early in the second half and then nine with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter, Bridges scored seven consecutive points to keep the Nets in the game. But a Malik Monk 3-pointer and a De’Aaron Fox offensive rebound helped seal the win for Sacramento.
After surviving a rough fivegame road trip, the Nets returned to Brooklyn, where they faced another stiff test in the Kings.
They were prepared for the 1-2 punch of Domantas Sabonis and Fox and saw Sabonis dominate the first half and Fox star in the second for Sacramento (42-27).
It was a disappointing start to a four-game homestand for the Nets (39-31) against four teams that look to be bound for the postseason.
Vaughn said before the game he was wary of facing Sacramento, which has the top offense in the league and he was right to be concerned.
“They have two All-Stars [Sabonis and Fox], and they play like that every night,’’ Vaughn said. “Sabonis can dictate the offense and push it.”
Sabonis pushed around the undersized Nets with 24 points and 21 rebounds and helped spark a 13-0 run at the end of the first half that broke open what had been a tie game.
He also helped Sacramento to a 57-41 advantage on the boards, including 13-3 on the offensive side. The Nets failed to score a second-chance point.
“I think all five guys [on the court] need to do a better job participating and make sure you hit somebody,’’ Nic Claxton said of the rebounding woes. “It can’t be two guys. They did good job of having everybody just crashing. It’s on all of us.”
Still, the Nets were able to get back into the game with 10 straight points to cut the deficit to six with 4:11 to go in the third, but they could never catch Sacramento.
“It was similar to how we’ve been in the past, we’ve put ourselves in a hole and try to fight back,’’ Claxton said. “It’s like a broken record. We can’t put ourselves in a hole like that.”
The Kings built another 13point lead in the third and the Nets got it back to five before Royce O’Neale missed a 3-pointer that would have made it a two-point game.
Bridges hit two straight jumpers and a free throw to get the Nets back to within five and Cam Johnson’s 3-point attempt rimmed out with 3:42 left.
They opened up a nine-point lead on the Kings in the first quarter, highlighted by 10 early points from Bridges.
But Bridges didn’t score again for the rest of the half. He finished with a team-high 23 points.
Sacramento used a 13-0 run to end the first half to take a 54-41 lead into the second half.
Sabonis had a dozen boards to go along with 20 points before halftime and Fox heated up in the third quarter with a pair of quick 3-pointers.
The Nets have to recover quickly, with Denver — struggling, but still leading the Western Conference — coming to Brooklyn on Sunday.