Lack of execution, turnovers, and iso-ball give Nets its third straight loss

Dion Waiters is having a very productive week. On Monday, Waiters danced on Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson with 2.4 seconds left in the fourth and drained the go-ahead three-pointer to beat the western conference power 105-102. On Wednesday night, Waiters would send the Nets to the same fate.

The Miami Heat overcame an 18-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter and used a 15-2 run in final 4:35, setting up Waiters dagger trey, to lead the Heat to an exhilarating 109-106 victory. With 30 seconds remaining in the final period, Randy Foye found Trevor Booker in the paint for a layup that gave the Nets an opportunity for the win, down one, 104-103. And then it happened.

Wayne Ellington inbounded the ball to Waiters who streaked towards the ball behind the three-point line. He dribbled once defended by Foye, pulled up without hesitation and fired a high-arching, 27-footer, giving the Heat a 107-103 lead with 6.8 seconds left to play.

“I love those type of moments,” Waiters said post-game. “Coach just drew up a play, and I looked at (Ellington) and said, ‘give it to me, I want it.”

It was a play that capped off the Heat’s big fourth quarter in which they outscored the Nets 38-17. And it also highlights the stellar defense they played down the stretch, especially on Brook Lopez, who after torching the Heat for 26 first half points, was limited to a two-point fourth quarter.

With 4:35 remaining in the fourth, the Nets were in good shape. They were up by 10, 99-89 after two made free-throws by Lopez and had the opportunity to put the nail in the coffin and eliminate any chance of a Heat comeback, but they didn’t. They folded.

And while Lopez misfired on two consecutive trips on offense, the Heat, led by Goran Dragic and Waiters, spearheaded a 10-0 run capped off by Ellington’s three, that tied the game at 99-all with 2:16 remaining in the quarter.

A couple possessions later, with the Heat down one, 101-99 on two made free-throws by Nets rookie guard Caris LeVert, Miami rookie forward Okaro White buried a three, assisted by Waiters 102-101, which gave the Heat the lead for good.

“You know (Waiters) drew two at the end and I was wide open in that corner and he had that trust and the faith in me that I’ll knock it down and kicked it right to me,” White said post-game. “I went up into the shot and it was good so it’s nothing but God.”

At the end of the day, the Heat made shots when it counted and the Nets didn’t. The Nets also relied heavily on Lopez to create down the stretch and settled for “iso-ball”. It also doesn’t help that after Waiters’ layup cut the Nets lead to three 99-96 with 2:54 left to play, LeVert turned the ball over coming out of a timeout on the next possession.

After White’s three put the Heat up one, 102-101, the Nets left it up to Spencer Dinwiddie who missed a big three that could have put the Nets up two, with 43 seconds left. Late game execution has plagued the Nets all season long and on Wednesday night, it cost them another contest, this time against the Heat.

“I think we didn’t execute,” Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said post-game. “We started playing iso-ball and they turned us over a few times. We were missing shots, and then on the defensive end, we couldn’t get stops. You can’t give up 38 points in the fourth quarter, that’s way too many.”

Atkinson also said that he has to do a better job coaching, in finding the right balance between getting Lopez the ball and when to run plays and move the ball effectively for good shots. On too many occasions in the fourth, Atkinson said that Lopez wasn’t getting the ball in good positions to score and in doing so felt that it was up to him to save the day.

Despite his shortcomings, the Nets should’ve won this game and Lopez, who said post-game, that he has to do a better job of keeping the Nets offense going, knows that the Nets let one get away in large part to one single quarter.

“We really gave ourselves a chance for 40 minutes tonight, but obviously, it’s a full 48-minute game,” Lopez said post-game.

He led all scorers with a game-high 33 points. Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 points and LeVert, who broke Ellington’s ankles in the third quarter on a vicious crossover step-back three, recorded 12 points.

The hero of the game, Waiters scored a team-high 24 points and dished out eight assists while his backcourt mate, Dragic nearly clinched a double-double with 17 points and nine dimes. Ellington, who hit several big shots in this game and seemed eager to face his former team, handed the Nets 22 painful points off the bench and Willie Reed, another former Net scored 14 points.

This is a young team and you have to think that late game execution and defending for 48 minutes will be issues the Nets will tackle going forward. Like the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets need to “Trust The Process,” and continue to learn from their mistakes to become a better team in the future.

The Nets will have Thursday off and then face the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers and with Lebron James voicing his disappointment in his team’s play as of late and the inability of his front-office to find a playmaker for their bench, this is the absolute worst time for the Nets to face the Cavaliers.

Following the Cavaliers, the Nets will still be on the road and will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday and the Miami Heat in Miami on Monday. The Nets will be home on Wednesday, February 1 to play the other struggling New York team, the New York Knicks.

Raptors Backcourt, Minus Lowry, Sends Nets To 11th Straight Loss

The Brooklyn Nets hosted the Toronto Raptors, Tuesday evening, for the second time in less than a week. In the last contest, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan would combine to score 48 points, leading Toronto to a 19-point win, 132-113. Unfortunately for the Nets, they would endure the same fate, this time around, losing 119-109, but instead of DeRozan teaming up with his usual backcourt mate in Lowry, and unlikely hero came off the bench to start and torched the Nets perimeter defense.

Corey Joseph, who started in Lowry’s place (rest), scored a career-high 33 points, supplemented with DeRozan’s monster performance of 36 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead the Raptors to their third straight victory over the Nets for the season.

At halftime, Joseph scored nearly half of his game total, with 18 points, but in the third quarter, the Raptors, thanks to their fifth year guard, would start to pull away after a competitive first half.

Toronto (28-13) would trade baskets with the Nets for the first six minutes of the third, and after Jonas Valanciunas’s layup, which put the Raptors up by two, 73-71, Joseph went on a mini-scoring run all by himself. He would score five straight points, including a desperation three, at the top of the key, with the shot-clock expiring.

“(Kyle) provides a lot of scoring for us,” Joseph said post-game. “I knew that slot would be missing today, so I took it upon myself to try to be more aggressive, try to be aggressive and take what the defense gave me.”

It was only five points and put the Raptors up 78-73 at the five-minute mark, but following that make, Toronto would get into a groove defensively, forcing three turnovers in the next two and a half minutes. Their five-point lead became nine, as the Raptors would transform those turnovers into points, capped off by a breakaway fast-break dunk by Valanciunas, off of a Randy Foye turnover.

In the final period, Joseph would continue terrorizing the Nets, scoring 13 points, blowing by his defenders, making them look silly. But this particular fourth quarter, where games are decided, belonged to DeRozan.

Joseph scored more than his All-Star teammate’s 10 points but the difference is, it seemed like DeRozan made shots exactly when Toronto needed them. When Sean Kilpatrick cut the deficit to six points on two made free-throws, 99-93, DeRozan answered on the other end converting a floater, spinning off of his defender, to put the Raptors back up by eight for the second time in the quarter, with 7:54 remaining.

With the Nets threatening to cut into the lead, once again, down nine at the 6:50 minute mark, 103-94, DeRozan would hush the crowd again. He drained a 10-foot jumper at the free-throw line increasing the Raptors lead to 11 and on their next offensive possession, DeRozan struck again, hitting a floater over the defense, which put Toronto up 13, 107-94 with six minutes left in the quarter.

Prior to DeRozan’s big second half, he struggled early, shooting three of 14 from the field for 16 points heading into the half.

“I just kept playing the same way,” DeRozan said post-game. “You know, getting good looks and just going out there and I know it’s going to come, it’s just more so being patient, not really worrying about the misses.”

For the Nets, Brook Lopez led all scorers with 28 points and Bojan Bogdanovic, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert, all scored in double-figures chipping in 11 and 14 each respectively.

In the first half, the Nets were clicking on both sides of the ball, led by Lopez and Jefferson. Lopez scored 19 of his 28 points in the first half, highlighted by a couple of spin, step-through layups in the post that were Hakeem Olajuwon-esque on Valanciunas. Jefferson had some nice moments, taking his defender off the dribble, scoring 10 points at the half and as a group the Nets were looking good up 61-58.

In the third and fourth quarters, things went downhill for the Nets on offense due to the Raptors increased defensive pressure on Lopez. Toronto keyed in on the big-man, sending extra defenders and made sure to get the ball out of his hands. On several occasions, turnovers ensued and the Nets, collectively, just couldn’t find a rhythm on offense to prevent their 11th straight loss.

Despite their issues, the Nets know the season is far from over and can only do one thing: keep playing.

“You got to keep going,” Lopez said post-game. “We have a young group and we’re learning a lot on the fly so you got to just stay positive. We’re doing a lot well, just has not translated in the win column. I think we’re definitely going to break through soon. We just got to give ourselves a chance every night.”

One of the bright spots on the Nets has been LeVert’s play as of late. The rookie who missed most of training camp, scored 14 points with four assists and took the challenge of going up against DeRozan, at times, on both ends. His play has sparked the debate of whether he should be taking teammate, Joe Harris’s minutes and head coach Kenny Atkinson acknowledged that it is something that he has to mull over going forward.

“He’s getting more confidence,” Atkinson said regarding LeVert’s play. “He’s got the athleticism at that position that we need and the size and the quickness. I think, again, once the game slows down a little more, he’s even going to get better.”

The Nets are now 8-33 on the season, and haven’t won since last year in late December against the Charlotte Hornets.

With a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets seem to be seeking to win the battle of the NBA basement

At the beginning of the NBA season, the What’s The 411Sports on-air personalities had a conversation about who would emerge out of the NBA basement this season, the Los Angeles Lakers or the Philadelphia 76ers. Since the Nets finished third from last in the 2015-16 season, we were under no illusions that the Nets could make a run for the playoffs. However, we had no idea that we would be witnessing a full-scale regression of the Brooklyn Nets. If this Nets duel with the 76ers is foretelling what’s ahead, the Brooklyn Nets will finish the season dead last.

With a 105-95 loss to the Sixers, the Nets dropped their sixth straight and fell 2.5 games behind the 76ers for the worst record in the league.

At the end of the day, turnovers and free throws cost the Nets a win against the 76ers.

“It’s tough,” said Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson. “To get 16 more shots than us, I think I’m correct on that, that’s tough – 16 more shots than us and 10 more free throws than us – so it’s a tough combination to beat, and we have to do a better job. I’ve mentioned it before, just executing our offense better and making better decisions. I think playing with the pass, I think when I watch the tape it’s going to be like, maybe there’s a guy open there and they come to the rim and can we make that pass to a teammate. And we have to look at it, is our spacing right? We’ve got to really look at our offense because it’s kind of a little disappointing because I felt like our defense gave us a chance. That’s what you get. Your defense gives you a chance and then you can’t turn it over like that and give them that many more possessions. Eventually, it’s going to get you. We have to do a better job though.”

Despite holding the Sixers to 39.4 percent shooting overall, the 76ers cleared a path to victory with a 17-2 surge in the fourth quarter.

In the loss, Brook Lopez led all scorers with 26 points on 8 of 16 shooting, (including three made 3-pointers) in 32 minutes. Justin Hamilton recorded 16 points with five rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes off the bench. Bojan Bogdanovic totaled 12 points with a season-high-tying eight rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes vs. the Sixers.

In the win, Joel Embiid scored 20 points for Philadelphia. Dario Saric added 18 points, while Robert Covington and Nik Stauskas each chipped in 15.

Brook Lopez leads all scorers with 20 points; With loss against the Hawks, the Nets fell to 8-29 overall and 7-12 at Barclays Center

“I think they’re playing excellent basketball, I think (they’re) an elite program in this league and this is one game where I’m looking at the opponent saying they’re pretty darn good.”

Those were the words of Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson at the post-game presser following a torching of the Brooklyn Nets by his former team, the Atlanta Hawks.

With the 117-97 loss to the Hawks, the Nets just lost its seventh straight game on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center. It must have been surreal for Atkinson, who last season, was an assistant coach with this up-and-coming Hawks team to now be the head coach of a team that is in the NBA basement.

“I wish we were a little more competitive, but again, I know I have an intimate knowledge of how they play and the players they have,” Atkinson said regarding playing his former team. “Again, we’re going to look at the tape and watch it to see if we can pick up some things. They set the bar high and we can look at it and say someday we’d like to strive to be a similar program, but we have a lot of work to do.”

Yes, the Nets do have a lot of work to do. The closest team Black and White came to the Hawks was in the first two minutes of the first quarter when twice the Nets were within one point. The Hawks held the lead throughout. The first stanza ended with a six-point spread, Hawks 35 Nets 29; and the Nets ended the first half with an 18-point deficit (61-43). In the Nets defense, they did try to turn things around, as they began the third quarter on a 15-7 run and pulled to 68-58 on Kilpatrick's bucket with 6:28 left. However, when the third quarter was over, the fruits from that run disappeared. The Nets ended the third down 16 points (86-70).

“They had more energy I think, especially the first half,” said a disappointed Nets center, Brook Lopez. “They just outworked us. The numbers clearly showed.”

“….we have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and have to rebound better,” Atkinson added. “I did think in the third quarter we came out with a little more aggressiveness. We were more aggressive on the ball, I thought that helped us. We came out with more energy, so that was a positive considering we’ve struggled in the third quarter, so I’ll take that. And overall in the second half, better. But we have a lot of things to work on.”

Perhaps, muscle memory will kick in soon.

In the loss, Lopez scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting with two blocks in 32 minutes against the Hawks. Bojan Bogdanovic added 16 points and six rebounds, Sean Kilpatrick had 14 points and five rebounds, Caris LeVert chipped in 11 points, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.

For the Hawks, Dennis Schroder scored a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists. Dwight Howard contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds, and Paul Millsap had 14 points and eight rebounds.

Up next for the Nets is the New Orleans Pelicans at the Barclays Center on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Big 4th Quarter from Kyrie Irving sends Nets to 5th straight loss

Kyrie Irving hasn’t played since last year when he scored 32 points in a win against the Boston Celtics on December 29. Unfortunately for the Brooklyn Nets who hosted the “Super Friends”, Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, Irving showed no signs of rust.

The sixth-year guard picked up from where he left off and torched the young Nets in the second half. He scored 16 of his 32 points in the 4th quarter, leading the Cavs, alongside Lebron James to an entertaining 116-108 win.

Through the first three quarters, Irving struggled from the field. He entered the fourth quarter with 16 points but shot five of 17 from the field. But when it mattered, “Uncle Drew” showed up. The Nets cut what was an 18-point lead from the Cavs to six to start the 4th quarter, down 86-80, capped off by a three from Caris LeVert with 10 minutes left until the end of regulation. Irving then took over.

After two made free-throws, Irving would go on a 10-6 run all by himself. He drained a couple of threes in the eyes of the defense and capped off his run converting a tough contested reverse layup that put the Cavs up by 16, 98-82 with 7:36 left in the fourth.

“He (Irving) loves big moments,” James said post-game. “No matter if a team with a record that they have and the record that we have, games get close he’s going to step up to the plate and its always great to see him come through.”

Despite the Cavs lead the Nets continued to fight. After James connected on a turnaround bank shot that put the Cavs up by 12, 100-88 with 5:45 left in the quarter, Bojan Bogdanovic hit a three-pointer that pulled the Nets to within nine.

The Nets would cut the deficit to within seven on a running layup by Trevor Booker, 113-106 with 1:17 left but by then it was already too late. Despite the offensive success the Cavs enjoyed in addition to the win, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson was satisfied with his team’s defensive effort.

“I know the score looks high, but I think for the pace, our defense was much better, much better than last night so I’m happy with that,” Atkinson said post-game.

Like Irving, Kevin Love struggled early as well. At the end of the third, Love scored 14 points on four of 12 shooting but it didn’t matter. Irving caught fire and James added a sneaky team-high 36 points which included several signature James dunks to wow the crowd.

Whether it’s James or Irving or even Love, the Cavs’ big three are too much for just about anybody.

“It’s pick your poison you know,” Atkinson said. “They just spread you out with their shooting and obviously they’ve got two excellent “iso” players in Irving and James.”

As for Brooklyn, LeVert enjoyed a career night. The rookie out of Michigan who missed summer league and struggled to stay on the court through training camp, due to a left foot fracture scored 19 points on 58 percent shooting from the field. He hit some big shots to keep the Nets competitive late in the game and even guarded James on occasion, welcoming the defensive challenge.

“I love competition,” LeVert said post-game. “I’m from Ohio as well, so I grew up watching them (Cavaliers) play a lot, so that’s someone that I’ve wanted to play against since I was younger, so I just wanted to compete.”

On offense, LeVert said that he tried to stay aggressive the whole game and was encouraged by his coaches and teammates to do so.

“I felt like Caris really stepped it up there and made some really good plays,” said Atkinson on the rookie’s play.

Other than Caris, Booker added a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, Bogdanovic scored a team-high 23, Brook Lopez added 17 and Isaiah Whitehead added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

It’s difficult to find the good in any loss but against the Cavs, the play of the younger pieces on the Nets was encouraging to see and even still, Lopez believes the Cavs are just one of 30 teams that the Nets will have to treat equally.

“It’s important to treat every game like that,” Lopez said post-game. “I know it’s easy to prepare and get ready for a game like this and get up for a game like this when you’re playing the premier players in the league, but you have to treat every game like this. Our next one is just as important. We have to take it one game at a time.”

Nets win game but lose Jeremy Lin to a reinjured left hamstring

Check out the Nets vs. Hornets Video Highlights

With the Brooklyn Nets, you never know what the outcome of the game is going to be. On Monday night, the Nets (7-22) met up with the (17-13) Charlotte Hornets at home at the Barclays Center. The Nets are fourth in the Atlantic Division and the Hornets are leading the Southeast Division. In fact, every team in the Southeast Division has a better record than the Nets. So to think that the Nets might lose this one wouldn’t be too far-fetched.

The Nets trailed the Hornets by nine points (40-31) at the closing of the first quarter, and then again the same point spread at the closing of the first half, Hornets 63 – Nets 54. Given the way that the Nets have been losing steam in the third quarter, it was amazing to see the team keep its composure and close the gap, ending the third stanza with only a five-point deficit 88-83. Equally important was that Nets guard Jeremy Lin re-injured his left hamstring during the third quarter; he abruptly left the game, and the Nets didn’t seem to miss a beat.

It was the fourth quarter where things got very interesting. The Nets showed their Brooklyn Grit; they kept the game close and went back and forth with the lead. Brook Lopez even scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth. Sean Kilpatrick added 10 of his 23 points in the fourth.

As the minutes wound down, and with just under two minutes left in regulation, the score was tied at 111-111. Kilpatrick hit a three, then Hornets center Cody Zeller dropped a cutting dunk to bring the score to 114-113, and then at the 1:06 mark, Nets shooting guard Bojan Bogdanovich hit a three to bring the score to 117-113. With 32 seconds left, Hornets guard Nicolas Batum posted up a three-pointer bringing Charlotte within one at 117-116. Now, at the four-second mark, the home crowd audibly engaged holds their collective breath as Hornets point guard Kemba Walker drives for a layup, but it is blocked by Nets power forward Trevor Booker. However, Zeller grabs the rebound and makes a putback layup putting the Hornets ahead by one point (118-117). Brooklyn calls a timeout to regroup with two seconds remaining on the clock.

When Zeller grabbed the rebound and then made the putback, Nets backup guard Randy Foye, listed at 6-foot-4, was right there; but Foye, no match for the 7-foot center, couldn’t get the block.

But when the timeout was over, Foye redeemed himself.

Foye stationed behind the arc received an inbound pass from Bogdanovich. With just .9 seconds left in regulation, Foye pushed up, released the ball just before the buzzer and drained a three to seal the deal. And, just like that, the Nets stung the Hornets with a 120-118 win.

Making that buzzer beater and winning the game, didn’t stop Foye from feeling a little bit guilty that Zeller got that putback layup to put Charlotte up by one.

“It was my fault,” said Foye, diagramming the team’s defensive scheme. “It’s my fault he got the layup. Trevor [Booker] switched and blocked the shot. I was supposed to block out Zeller.”

“You know, Zeller put that basket down with a few seconds left, but the way our team maintained focus, and our mental strength, was fantastic,” said Lopez. “It was a great validation for our guys.”

It sure was.

Foye’s buzzer-beating three marked his first points in 21 minutes off the bench on Monday night.

In the win, Bogdanovic led all scorers with 26 points. In fact, this was the second game this season that Bogdanovic, Kilpatrick (23 points) and Lopez (21 points) all scored 20 plus points in the same game. The last time was against the Lakers on December 14, 2016.

Booker posted 12 rebounds, Lin scored 17 points before his departure in the third quarter, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson chipped in 10 points.

Brooklyn shot .533 from the field (40-of-75 FG) and .484 from 3-point range (15-of-31 3FG) in the win. The Nets’ .484 shooting from 3-point range marked a season high (previous high: .481 vs. Detroit on 11/2).

In the loss, Charlotte had six players in double digits; Batum had 24 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals; Jeremy Lamb scored 17 points, and Walker and Zeller each had 15 points.

Next, up, the Nets are on the road to play Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, Washington Wizards on Friday, and then back home to play the Utah Jazz in the New Year on Monday, January 2nd, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.

Lakers domination over Nets ended in the 4th Quarter; Bogdanovic, Lopez, and Kilpatrick each scored over 20 points in the win for Brooklyn

On Wednesday, December 14, 2016, the Brooklyn Nets hosted the Los Angeles Lakers at the Barclays Center. Both teams entered the contest looking for a win to stop their respective losing streaks. Although Nets point guard Jeremy Lin returned to the lineup for the first time in 17 games two days prior in Houston, Nets fans would not see Lin as he was inactive due to tightness in his lower back.

The first quarter of the game was tight between the two teams and despite the Nets shooting 32% from the field, they found themselves only trailing by three points due to their dominance at the free throw line. The Lakers cooled off in the second quarter and Brooklyn capitalized by outscoring Los Angeles 25-13 ending the half with a nine-point lead (52-43).

As the third quarter began, Brooklyn’s offense was out of sync due to failing to secure the ball, committing turnovers in their first possessions of the half. The turnovers led to fast break points for the Lakers. After a timeout called by coach Kenny Atkinson, the Nets had better ball movement on offense but it didn’t prevent the Lakers from outscoring the Nets by ten in the quarter which included a spectacular dunk by Larry Nance, Jr. The Nets found themselves trailing by one at the start of the fourth quarter (76-75).

The Nets’ performance late in games has been a concern this season but on this night, the team rallied to take the lead. Once the Nets had the lead, they never relinquished it and kept the Lakers scoreless in the last six minutes of the game; ending it with a 10-point spread, the Nets 107 and the Lakers 97.

Scoring 20 or more points for Brooklyn were Bojan Bogdanovic (23), Brook Lopez (20) and Sean Kilpatrick (22), and Joe Harris, the only other Nets player scoring in double digits, chipped in 11 points. Nets power forward Trevor Booker added an impressive 18 rebounds in the winning effort.

On his team’s effort on the defensive side of the ball, Coach Atkinson asserted “I think if we’re going to take a step, that’s where we need to take a step, is defensively, so I was very pleased.”

To further illustrate the change in the team, Lopez stated “We just stayed together and kept our concentration in focus… We haven’t done that at times before, but we definitely had to stick to it tonight.”

Lopez scores 24 points; and Booker, Bogdanovic, and Kilpatrick come up big in the final seconds

The Brooklyn Nets held off the Denver Nuggets for an 116-111 victory on Wednesday night.

For once, the Nets didn’t have a third quarter meltdown; they went into the fourth 96-79.

Brooklyn led by as many as 29 points midway through the third quarter, but Denver closed the gap to 103-99 in the fourth on Kenneth Faried's layup with 4:31 left. And, it was almost as my colleague says, “the same ole Nets.”

"Look at the positive, I think we took a punch, two punches, maybe five punches and we got off the floor and finished it out," Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said.

Yes, the Nets did finish it out. With fans sitting on pins and needles, Bojan Bogdanovic and Sean Kilpatrick each made two foul shots in the final 13 seconds to help secure the win for the Nets.

Here’s the breakdown. Nets power forward Trevor Booker went 1 for 2 at the line with 13 seconds remaining for an 112-109 Nets lead. Denver’s Jameer Nelson then threw away the inbounds pass after a Denver timeout, and Bogdanovic made two free throws with 12.7 seconds left.

After Wilson Chandler hit a driving layup for Denver, Kilpatrick made two foul shots to help secure the win for the Nets.

"It's a confidence boost for me when I know my teammates are counting on me with the ball in my hands towards the end," Kilpatrick said. "I'm trying to make sure I make the right plays, especially down the stretch."

In the win, the Nets had six players score in double digits. Brook Lopez scored 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists for the Nets. Kilpatrick had 22 and six rebounds, Bogdanovich added 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and Booker posted 15 points and 12 rebounds. Coming off the bench for the Nets, Joe Harris chipped in 16 points.

In the loss, Chandler led all scorers with 27 points and 15 rebounds. Will Barton had 15 points, and Nelson and Nikola Jokic each scored 14.

“It’s hard to look back at this game because when you play like that and come back, you just think of all the mistakes you made and the stuff you did to get down, but at that point, it’s a winnable game,” Chandler said. Now we can’t look back and dwell on it too much because we play tomorrow.”

The Nets will be off for two days and then the team will meet up with the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in San Antonio.

The Milwaukee Bucks coached by former Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd, came into the Barclays Center and wreaked havoc on the Brooklyn Nets. Just two days before, the Nets played like they belong in the conversation about top NBA teams when they stunned the Los Angeles Clippers with a 127-122 double overtime win.

The Nets started off staying close; in fact, during the first half, the teams looked evenly matched. The Nets were even up 60-59 three minutes into the third quarter. But the Nets’ the third quarter nemesis showed up and said not so fast, and the team’s fortunes quickly changed. Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks went on a tear ending the third quarter 90-78.

“I think turnovers hurt us,” said Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson. “Just giving them too many easy baskets and, you know, third quarter again – they outscored us pretty good there, so we’ve really got to look at what we are doing there. And we are looking at it and trying to figure it out, but we haven’t figured it out yet.”

Early in the fourth quarter, it was a 10-point game, Bucks 92 and the Nets 82. But, the Nets just couldn’t get over the hump. They had too many missed opportunities in the fourth quarter, shooting 2-for-14 over the first six minutes. Meanwhile, the Bucks knocked down three 3s in less than 90 seconds.

“I think our offense got really stagnant,” Atkinson said. “Give them credit, they switched a lot of our stuff and forced us into a lot of one-and-one play and the ball stopped moving.”

In the win, Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo had 23 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, Jabari Parker scored 22 points, and Malcolm Brogdon and Tony Snell each added 13 points.

Brook Lopez posted 15 points for the Nets. Sean Kilpatrick, who was signed out of the D-League last season, and who scored a career-high 38 points against the Clippers on Tuesday, only scored 14 points tonight. Bojan Bogdanovic added 13 for the Nets.

This was not a fun game to watch. Only the presence of former president Bill Clinton, a marriage proposal, and Clinton taking a photo with the engaged couple made it interesting.

Next up, the Nets have an opportunity to avenge the loss as they play the Bucks again on Saturday in Milwaukee.

It was the day before Thanksgiving and with dreams of plates full of turkey and stuffing dancing in their heads, thousands of fans brought their holiday spirit into the Barclays Center to cheer on the Brooklyn Nets as they took on the Boston Celtics. Jeremy Lin was once again inactive for the game due to a hamstring injury but the rest of the team was ready for action.

The Nets had a rough start in the opening minutes of the game falling behind 9-2 with 8:53 on the clock with Trevor Booker providing the only basket for Brooklyn. Booker provided the arena with energy due to his hustle on the floor. The Nets struggled from the field and three-point range compiling completion percentages for the quarter of 27.3% and 25% respectively. Unfortunately, sloppy play caused the Nets to commit seven turnovers leading to six Celtics points.

The start of the second quarter saw Brooklyn down by fourteen and it looked like the Celtics would run away with the game, however, Brooklyn pride would thwart such an attempt. The crowd chants of “defense!” propelled the team to respond by limiting Boston’s scoring opportunities and the Nets quickened the tempo leading to Brooklyn fast break points. While the Nets’ shooting woes continued, a three-pointer by Bojan Bogdanovic cut the lead to 10. The three-pointers didn’t always come when they wanted but they were always on time as three point baskets made by Brook Lopez and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson helped the Nets eventually cut the lead to two points at the end of the half.

The third quarter started and the Nets kept the number of turnovers to a minimum but the Celtics were able to penetrate the defense allowing shots from beyond the arc. The Celtics began to heat up from three-point land aiding in extending their lead. The Nets gave a valiant effort but the Celtics never relinquished the lead and left the Barclays Center with a victory, 111-92.