the Nets drop another one. To the Pacers once again for the third time.
Pacers had a great second half. That's what fueled them after an about even first half.
The Nets continue to struggle without Brook. Now 1-3 since the broken foot news.
The second half has been horrible for the Nets this season. Its been their achilles heel.
The Nets are now 0-15 when giving up 100+ points.
The Nets the next two days off before playing in San Antonio against the Spurs on New Years Eve.
The Nets ended their losing streak to the Milwaukee Bucks.
They came out early with a sense of urgency. Already without Brook Lopez, they learned Andray Blatche would miss the next games due to personal reasons
Shaun Livingston was inserted in the lineup along with Paul Pierce.
Livingston had a monster game. Scoring 20 points on 6/11 shooting grabbing 6 boards and collecting 5 assists.
Nets had 5 players in double figures and improved to 10-19 on the season. The final score was 104-93.
They head to Indiana tomorrow to face a tough Pacers team.
For the second straight year it hasn't been a very Merry Christmas for the Brooklyn Nets.
Today's game almost completely modeled Monday's loss against Indiana. A great start in the first stayed at par in the second then collapsed in the second half.
After one the Nets led by 2. Then trailed by 3 after 2. It wasn't pretty after that. The Nets turned the ball over. Ended possessions on missed shot after shot. There was a point they missed 10 consecutive shots.
The Nets are now 0-2 since Brook Lopez was announced out for the season.
This Nets team is struggling horribly now ten games under .500 at 9-19.
I think Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have to start showing their veteran leadership. Andray Blatche has to be more consistent. Deron Williams has to keep doing what he's doing. And Joe Johnson needs to make those open shots.
This Nets team still has a chance. Plenty of time, but they'd better hurry if they want to turn this around.
Andrei Kirilenko should be back for Friday's game against Milwaukee.
Nets have an off day tomorrow before hosting the Bucks Friday night.
The Nets started their journey without Brook Lopez. It started well, but it sure didn't end well.
The Nets started off early taking a 16-10 lead. Pretty much after the first things went south for the Nets.
They again were badly out-rebounded.
The only bright spot for the Nets was the return of Jason Terry. He was 4/7 for 11 points.
Bad news for the Nets is in the 4th Nets down by double digits Deron Williams goes down and limps and buries a three. Seemed alright to me, but had a noticeable limp.
More good news on the injury front for Brooklyn, Andrei Kirilenko will play either Wednesday or Friday.
Nets have tomorrow off (as does the rest of the NBA) before a home Christmas Day matchup against the Bulls at 12 ET on ESPN.
Merry Christmas, Nets Nation!
After last night's game Brook Lopez was diagnosed with a fractured foot and he is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
This is a huge blow to a team that has been without Andrei Kirilenko for all but three games and Jason Terry missing 15 games. It also hurts the Nets inside. Lopez is probably the best post scorer in the NBA. Losing him for the season leaves the Nets limited. They will have to rely on their jump shooters to make their shots. This also could mean more minutes for KG than they would've hoped.
The Nets have a number of options. They can stick Plumlee at the 5 and keep KG at the 4. They could stick KG at the 5 with either Teletovic or Blatche at the 4.
The Nets this season are 7-10 with Brook, 2-7 without him. It's gonna be very difficult for the Nets to contend as they hoped they would coming into the season. Without Brook's inside scoring the Nets will struggle mightily. Brook was also the leading scorer on the team. Averaging just under 21 PPG and 56% shooting.
This team is going to have to have the heart and will to contend now. I still believe they can. It will be very difficult.
Also, in his first 3 seasons, Lopez didn't miss a single game. The next 3? He's averaging 32 games a season. Tough luck for Brook and the Nets.
The Nets beat down the Sixers Monday night at Barclays. Tonight was different. This game experienced 30+ lead changes. Back and forth they went all game.
This is back to back games that the Nets had 3 players score 20+. Last game Pierce, Johnson, & Brook all scored 20+. Tonight the Nets were led by Alan Anderson with 26, Pierce with 24, & Lopez with 22.
This game came down to the last shot. With the game tied 108-108 in regulation it was iso Deron as he missed the jumper at the buzzer. (Thought they'd go to Pierce).
Then in overtime down 119-117, Deron drove and kicked it out to an open Pierce who buried the three to give the Nets a 120-119 lead. Then off an inbounds Hawes handed off to Evan Turner (29 points) who drove to the basket a floated up a layup and got the roll at the buzzer and that's all she wrote. Sixers win, 121-120.
Nets will have two days off until they host the Indiana Pacers Monday night.
The Nets continue to have problems with the Wizards this season. The Wizards killed the Nets behind the arc and on the glass. The Nets just couldn't rebound tonight. They suffered by getting killed on second chance points.
A huge bright spot for the Nets is that that had 3 players score 20+ points. Pierce, Johnson, & Lopez. Johnson finished with 20. Brook finished with 22. & Pierce had 27 on 10/12 shooting and also added 6 boards and 3 assists.
Pierce finally had a break out game, even though it comes in a 113-107 loss to Washington. Deron Williams records another double-double with 15 points and 13 assists.
Since D-Will and Pierce's return Nets are 3-2. And the Nets continue to get killed beyond the arc. They give up the highest opponent 3pt FG% in the league. To even be close to as successful as they imagined, they have to defend the 3.
The Nets will be off tomorrow before returning to action in Philly Friday night as they visit the Sixers. A team Brooklyn dismantled Monday night, 130-94.
The Nets completely destroyed the Philadelphia 76ers. By a score of 130-94. The Nets have improved to 3-1 since Deron Williams' return. They were hitting everything. Locked in. The Nets knocked down 21 three pointers.
The story of the game? Joe Johnson. Well, his 3rd quarter was the story. He scored 8 points in the first half. He finished with 37 due to the 29 he dropped in the third quarter. There was a point where he made about 6 jumpshots consecutively. He ended up 10/13 in the quarter and 8/10 from three. He tied an NBA record for most threes in a quarter with Michael Redd. He finished the game 13/20 and 10/14 from three.
Another story is how much the absence of D-Will hurt the Nets. As you can see, his return has jolted this team. He makes a huge difference. His crossovers create space on the floor. He has been hitting his jumpers consistently. He also tallied 13 points and 13 assists tonight.
Pierce played a team-high 31 minutes tonight. He drained three three-pointers in the fourth quarter to get some rhythm. He finished with 14.
The victory improves the Nets to 9-15. Still remaining 2 games back of first in the Atlantic after Boston's victory tonight.
Nets have a day off tomorrow before facing the Wizards on Wednesday.
It was another one of those games for the Nets. Until the fourth quarter came. The Nets played a decent first quarter taking a 24-23 lead after one. It fell apart after that. The Nets were outscored in the second quarter 38-20. They found themselves down 61-44 at the half.
The third quarter didn't treat them any better. They got within 12 but the Pistons quickly turned that around. The Nets were playing without Brook Lopez tonight due to an ankle sprain. He should be back Monday. Anyways, Brooklyn then at the end of 3rd found themselves down 18.
The fourth quarter came. The Nets made a furious run. Down by 18 entering the quarter the Nets quickly made a run. Cutting the lead to 5 with over two minutes to go. They went cold for a while. Monroe hit a hook shot to seemingly out it away with 50 seconds to go. Deron Williams got fouled shooting a THREE, made all three free throws. Then on the other end Paul Pierce drew a charge against Josh Smith. Pierce then hit a clutch three to pull the Nets within two. That's as close as they got. Two big free throws by Singler and the Pistons are victorious, 103-99. D-Will finished with 22 points, 9 assists. Mirza also played well off the bench. 4/5 from three.
Nets have a couple of off days before playing against Philly on Monday.
During the 1st quarter it seemed like another one of "those games". Clippers jumped out to an early 13 point lead but the Nets responded pulling within 5 after one and eventually took a 33-31 lead in the second and never looked back.
The Nets were hitting their threes tonight. Hitting their free throws. Clippers struggled in both of those areas. Going 6/24 from three and missing double digit free throws.
Deron Williams put on a clinic in the 2nd scoring 12 points and having a couple great crossover moves on Chris Paul. The Nets outscored the Clippers 36-19 in the second. & here's a fun fact: for the third game in a row, the Nets don't falter in the third quarter.
There was a scary moment for the Nets. Brook Lopez seemed to come down wrong on his ankle and was diagnosed with a left ankle sprain. He came back in and then exited a few plays later. He just seemed to tweak it. I expect him to play tomorrow.
The Clippers were out of sync missing shot after shot. Nets took advantage. Johnson and Blatche each had 21. Williams had 15. Pierce had 10, 7, & 5. The final score ended up being, 102-93. A lot closer than it really was, but it was an all-around great victory for the Nets tonight.
Deron Williams returned with a bang in the Nets 104-96 victory over the Boston Celtics last night. He had missed 10+ games due to an ankle sprain. Something he's had a problem with so far this season. Over the last few seasons he's had to deal with ankle injuries. Inflammation in ankle, 3 different ankle sprains and you could definitely see the Nets missed him.
Last night in his return, D-Will recorded 25 points, 7 assists. He only turned the ball over 2 times and also played 37 minutes. They sure did miss him. Driving by defenders. Hitting jumpers. Setting up his teammates. D-Will looked, well, like vintage D-Will.
During the game you could just see the difference with D-Will on the court. He's the leader of this team and he showed why last night. He must stay healthy for this team to succeed this season.
After the game KG made comments concerning Deron. "D-Will makes a difference" Also saying that: "D-Will set the tone tonight." You can tell this team misses him and glad he is back. With Deron healthy this team could be very dangerous. Still with Andrei Kirilenko and Jason Terry out. This team, if healthy is a force to reckoned with. It all starts with health, though. It starts with Deron Williams.
