In final game of the season, Nets general manager gives strong signal that Tony Brown won’t be back

Today was the last game of the season for the Brooklyn Nets. They hosted the Toronto Raptors at the Barclays Center, a team the Nets bounced out of the playoffs in the first round in 2014.

I thought there was an outside chance that the Nets could close out the season with a win, particularly since Toronto head coach Dwane Casey told the media in a pregame press conference that the Raptors would be without DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Luis Scola and Jonas Valanciunas. And, adding to the missing key Toronto players, the Nets started the game with a 21-4 run, which made me hopeful.

However, the 17-point lead seemed to vanish in an instant. By the end of the half, Toronto led Brooklyn 49-47; at the end of the third stanza, Toronto had a 12-point lead 78-66. When the music stopped, the Nets had lost to the Raptors 103-96, and in so doing, finished the season with a 21-61 record, the 3rd-worst in the league.

In the loss, Bojan Bogdanovic came up big for the Nets, scoring 29 points on seven 3-pointers. Sean Kilpatrick, a fan favorite, as they are still calling his name when he steps on the hardwood, added 12 points and tied his three career assist record. Donald Sloan scored 11 points, and Henry Sims chipped in 10 points and tied his career-high three blocked shots.

Like the Nets, the Raptors also only had four players in double digits; but they scored more points. Norman Powell led all scorers with 30 points and nine rebounds; Terrence Ross scored 24 points and 10 boards off the bench; Delon Wright added 18 points and seven assists; and Jason Thompson chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds.

Anyone following the Nets this season knows that this season is the team’s worst season in Brooklyn. The downward spiral caused the reassignment of general manager Billy King and the firing of head coach Lionel Hollins on January 10, 2016. Anthony (Tony) Brown, an assistant coach under Hollins was named interim head coach and played caretaker to a team that seemed to be in disarray. As one who followed the team, I don’t think the 21-61 record really reflects the potential of the Brooklyn Nets’ team as it is presently constituted. The team needs a stronger point guard, a defender around the rim, and a coach that has experience developing young players, and particularly millennials. The salary cap is expected to go up to approximately $89 million and with Nets current salary obligations it could have between $42.1 and $48.2 million for free agents. Attracting good free agents to the Nets will depend in part on who becomes the next head coach.

Sean Marks, the Nets new general manager has been in evaluation mode of both players and interim coach Tony Brown. There is no doubt some of the players will not be back next season and certainly Tony Brown won’t be back.

Brown told the media that the Nets’ young players are still being evaluated and was asked if he still believed he was being evaluated by Marks.

“I can’t answer that. I really can’t,” Brown said before Monday’s game against the Wizards. “We’ve got two games left. I feel like the situation has been tough from the beginning, I’ve tried to make the best of it and I’m going to continue to do that the last two games and whatever happens, happens. I’m not worried about my fate with this organization.”

As I watched Brown hustle out the door after the Nets final game against Toronto and there were no final remarks by Nets General Manager Marks, I guess we all have our answer soon enough.

Sean Kilpatrick’s spectacular home debut spoiled by Nets turnovers in the fourth quarter

The Milwaukee Bucks came into Brooklyn this afternoon after beating the New Orleans Pelicans yesterday at home 103-92.

In a pre-game interview, acknowledging the energy drain of back-to-back games and plane trouble, which prevented the Milwaukee Bucks from having an earlier arrival, Bucks head coach Jason Kidd stated that “we’re going to need everybody.”

Everybody wasn’t necessary because Giannis Antetokounmpo was on fire! Antetokounmpo aka “The Greek Freak” scored 28 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, nearly obtaining his fourth triple-double in the last 11 games by halftime. Antetokounmpo already had 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds by the half.

Jabari Parker added 23 points, and Khris Middleton chipped in 19 points to help the Bucks beat the Nets 109-100; securing the Bucks third straight game.

The Nets didn’t exactly roll over and play dead, as team Black and White led by one heading into the fourth quarter. However, Brook Lopez, who scored 20 points for the Nets, was held scoreless in the fourth.

Sean Kilpatrick, who recently signed a 10-day contract with the Nets, added 19 points in his first home game. Thaddeus Young pulled down 17 points and 10 rebounds, his 26th double-double of the year. Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 13 points and a career-high seven assists.

So, what happened?

In a nutshell, it was a 31-21 fourth quarter advantage for Milwaukee. Add to that, Lopez was held scoreless in the fourth, and the Nets committed 12 turnovers in the fourth and 20 on the night.

“Turnovers. We played well enough for three-quarters and then we had crucial turnovers that you can’t recover from,” Nets interim coach Tony Brown said.

"I wouldn't even say it was their pressure," Thaddeus Young said. "We were throwing the ball all over the place. We had a lot of turnovers that were kind of unforced."

The Nets loss to Milwaukee tonight was the Nets’ first game at Barclays Center after an unprecedented nine-game, three-week road trip.

Joe Johnson Snaps his personal streak of 937 games with at least one field goal

Last night the Memphis Grizzlies came to Brooklyn to play the Brooklyn Nets and it was the Grizzlies’ first game without Marc Gasol, who broke his right foot earlier in the day.

In a pre-game interview, Brooklyn Nets interim head coach Tony Brown spoke about the Nets’ chances against the Grizzlies with Marc Gasol being out of the Grizzlies’ lineup.

“Not having him around obviously helps us a little bit, but then it’s not the end all,” Coach Brown stated.

VIDEO: Watch Brooklyn Nets interim head coach Tony Brown talk about the Brooklyn Nets chances against the Memphis Grizzlies

On the other side of the ledger, Memphis Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger was a little concerned about not having Gasol, but wanted to focus on the game with the Nets and would wait until the NBA All-Star break to emerge with a plan to go forward without Gasol.

Regarding the Brooklyn Nets’ chances for a win, Joerger said, “It’s going to be a close game.”

VIDEO: Watch Memphis Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger explain the Memphis Grizzlies outlook without Marc Gasol

Coach Joerger’s pre-game interview was followed up by Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley.

Conley said regarding Gasol’s absence, “This team is resilient, we’ve been through a lot of diversity over the years, this is another hurdle, another obstacle to play without our leader, one of the best players on our team, we’re still confident.”

VIDEO: Watch Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley express the team's predicament without Marc Gasol

Okay so, no Marc Gasol. One would think the Nets would have been emboldened by their buzzer-beating win against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. One would also think that the Nets would have used the opportunity to extend their home-court winning streak to three games. If you are an optimistic soul and said yes, you would be wrong.

The first half looked like it might be a game; the Nets led by five at the end of the first quarter, and only trailed by five at the half. But, in the second half, the Grizzlies sharpened their teeth and mauled the Nets like no tomorrow, ending the third quarter 89-63, and of course, the game at 109-90.

Nets double-digit leaders were: Brook Lopez who finished with 20 points, Wayne Ellington added 18, Bojan Bogdanovic dropped in 11 and Thaddeus Young chipped in 10, as did Markel Brown.

For the Grizzlies, they had seven players score in double digits. Conley finished with 20 points. Interestingly, the next highest scorer for the Grizzlies, Jeff Green contributed 18 points off the bench.

Now, the Nets have lost other games by 20 points or more this season, but this one was different. The Nets’ win against Sacramento and Denver were boosters, and even though Memphis is bound for the NBA playoffs, the Nets had a built-in advantage, no Gasol.

But real the real question on everybody’s mind was how could Joe Johnson end the game with a big fat zero points scored? Prior to last night’s game, Johnson played 937 games with at least one field goal. This was the longest active streak in the NBA. So how did he end up with zero?

“He’s a great pro, man; obviously, it wasn’t his best night,” Coach Brown said about Joe Johnson’s missed field goals. “We were trying to do some things to start the third quarter…..He had some opportunities, but he came up short.”

VIDEO Watch Brooklyn Nets interim head coach Tony Brown explain how Joe Johnson missed scoring a field goal for the first time in 937 games

Thank God for the NBA All-Star break! Also, thank God that the Nets practice facility will now be in Brooklyn starting on Wednesday, February 17, perhaps being closer to the Barclays Center will be helpful to the guys in black and white.

The day after, February 18 at 3:00 p.m., is the NBA trade deadline. Given the team’s performance this season, will the Brooklyn Nets join the shuffle? Only time will tell.

Johnson hits 3-pointer at the buzzer; it stings the Nuggets and stuns the crowd

Instead of sending the Brooklyn faithful home with a comfortable win vs. the Denver Nuggets, Joe Johnson and co. elected to go the thrilling route. The savvy veteran coolly banked in a game-winning three with time expiring, on one leg, to defeat the Nuggets, 105-104. Prior to the shot, the Nets seemed to have shot themselves in the foot on their last possession.

With 45 seconds left in the 4th, Markel Brown turned the ball over looking for a cutting Johnson, who was moving towards the basket, on the baseline. The Nuggets intercepted and Kenneth Faried made the Nets pay by converting a tough layup defended by Shane Larkin, a mismatch, which gave the Nuggets a 104-102 lead, 1.3 secs left in the final quarter.

“I thought it was over,” Faried said regarding his go-ahead basket.

The Nets could've sulked, hung their heads and looked towards the next opponent but they didn't. They responded, and Johnson, like he's done for the majority of his career, hit another big shot.

“I didn’t think that thing had a chance when he (Joe Johnson) threw it up, but shooters are going to shoot and they’re going to make big shots,” said Faried who finished with a double-double, in 22 points and 13 rebounds. “I mean, he’s been an All-Star. He’s known for making big shots like that, and he did it tonight against us.”

The game had all the makings of what could've been a tough Nets home loss because they led and were in control in the first half. The Nets hit nine of their first 11 shots, up 19-11 with under six min left in the 1st quarter, led by Thaddeus Young who scored 10 points during the stretch.

They went up by as many as 16 in the second until Faried led a Denver comeback with eight points in the final four minutes of the second that closed the gap to six points, 49-55 at the break. In the second half of the game, the Nets and Nuggets traded baskets continuously and we all knew that at the pace both teams were competing at, an exciting finish was expected. Although the Nets won the game, execution down the stretch continued to hurt the Nets.

In the final seven minutes of the game, the Nets committed five costly turnovers which allowed the Nuggets to keep the game within distance and even take the lead to which Brown referenced turnovers.

“We tried to run a couple of plays and for whatever reason we still make poor decisions down the stretch, and we are still trying to work on that,” Brown said post-game.

Brooklyn’s interim head coach Tony Brown mentioned two plays down the stretch involving Brook Lopez (16 points) and Johnson (12 points) where the team tried to feed their best players the ball and on both occasions ended up in the visitor’s hands.

“So those situations hopefully we learn from because if we can get a shot, I like our chances in making them but we just can’t do it when we give away the ball like that, Coach Brown said.”

Off the bench, the Nets received healthy contributions from Markel Brown, the team’s 2nd leading scorer for this game, recording 19 points; and Bojan Bogdanovic who chipped in 12 points. The buzzer-beater won the headlines but so did Nets rookie forward Chris McCullough.

McCullough (2015 1st round draft pick), who hasn’t played since January of 2015 when he tore his ACL-16 games into his collegiate career-checked into the Nets win early in the second quarter and scored his first NBA basket on a mid-range jumper, according to ESPN.com.

“It just felt good to be out there, playing my game, doing what I do, block shots, rebound on the floor,” McCullough said who added two points, two rebounds one block and a steal. “Just to finally hear my name called, it felt great.”

Emmanuel Mudiay, Denver’s 2015 lottery pick was a little sloppy. He flashed brilliance dishing eight assists but struggled with his shot, and totaled just seven points and turned the ball over four times too many. Mudiay showed the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon exactly what they are missing at the point, with 15 points and nine assists but against the Nets, couldn’t mirror his performance offensively.

“He was only 3-10 from the field,” said Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. “He had eight assists and four turnovers, so he did some good things.”

Gary Harris his backcourt mate, played well, totaling 17 points and former Knick, Danilo Gallinari led all Nuggets with 24 points. The Nets will have a day off to enjoy the win and then will get back to work hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

The Nets score 65 points in the first half, en route to a shocking season-best win

The Brooklyn Nets don’t enjoy nights like this very often so when they do, you (the fan), have to enjoy it. The Nets matched their season high (38 points in 2nd quarter vs. GS) for most points scored in any quarter this season scoring 38 in the 3rd en route to a shocking 128-119 win over the Sacramento Kings Friday night. After going back-and-forth with the Kings for the majority of the first half, in which they scored 65 points, (first half season-high) the Nets took control of the game and as a result, extended their home winning streak against the Kings to seven games.

To begin the third, Donald Sloan and Thaddeus Young would combine to score the Nets first 12 points of the quarter, increasing what was a narrow four-point 65-61 advantage to a double-digit 77-66 lead. The Nets great start to the third quarter forced a Kings timeout but it didn’t matter. It was their night and the offensive success to finish the third continued with Brook Lopez.

Lopez scored 11 of his 26 points in that third quarter to sustain the Nets double-digit lead where they could have folded and allowed the Kings to get back into the game. The Nets dodged that bullet. There was no slippage.

To end the third, Sloan once again made the Kings pay scoring six straight points, capped off by a three that signaled the Nets 101 point of the night with a little over a minute left to the Kings 79. Along with Sloan, every Nets starter scored in double-digits in addition to Bojan Bogdanovic (23 points) who lit the Kings up from behind the arc draining seven threes but the star of the night was old veteran star, Joe Johnson. The Nets win doesn’t start without him.

He scored 13 points in the first quarter and ended the half with 18. He finished with 27 for the night and also played playmaker recording 11 assists.

“I think his reads, his vision on what’s available is just as good as anybody in the league and you try and out him in situations where he can make those kind of plays,” Nets head coach Tony Brown said referring to Johnson’s big night.

Johnson definitely turned back the clock and for a team that just ended a five-game losing streak with the win, nights like the one Johnson enjoyed as well as Brook, and Sloan is what the Nets will need more of going forward. The Nets won’t shoot 60 percent in the first quarter every game or 52 percent for the half but there’s nothing wrong with a little encouragement. On the opposing bench, things seem to be a little more complicated than not scoring enough points.

DeMarcus Cousins (24 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) who will make the trip to Toronto for his second straight All-star selection said that the loss is bigger than energy and effort.

“We gotta bigger issue, and we need to figure it out as a team,” Cousins said post-game. “I rather keep it in house, but we definitely have a bigger issue than just energy and effort. That can't be the excuse every night.”

Cousins doesn’t enjoy the greatest relationship with head coach George Karl so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out where that statement is coming from. It also didn’t help that Kings’ wing, Rudy Gay was done for the night after spraining his ankle early in the first either.

Although the Kings are in a better space personnel wise, their situation just might be as tumultuous as the Nets and that isn’t a compliment. The fact is, the Nets won on Friday night and according to Johnson, it felt great.

It feels great to get a win, to see everything kind of clicking on all cylinders,” Johnson said regarding the win. “Everybody was pretty much involved, and it led to a great win.”

Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson forces that kept the Nets in Abeyance

It’s Monday night, the first day of February and the Brooklyn Nets have just lost three consecutive games, including one home game. However, still fresh in the home crowd’s memory at the Barclays Center, is the Nets stunning upset win against the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the best teams in the NBA.

The crowd at the Barclays Center was hopeful to the end, because overall, the Nets were playing fairly well. However, not well enough to overcome the forces of Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson and the rest of the Detroit Pistons. It was close, but the Pistons still beat the Brooklyn Nets 105-100.

Brook Lopez, aka The Big Guy”, worked his game, scoring 27 points for the Nets in addition to his five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Andrea Bargnani put up 18 points and four rebounds off the bench, while starting guard Wayne Ellington contributed 11 points.

The Nets led 57-54 at the half and was just three points (78-75) behind the Pistons at the end of the third quarter.

“We moved the ball, played at a high pace, got up and down, got a lot of shots for AB (Andrea Bargnani) in the mid-range, Markel (Brown) and Bogie (Bojan Bogdanovic) on the three,” said Nets backup point guard Shane Larkin on what the team did to get back into the game in the third and fourth quarter.

But the guys in Black and White couldn’t grab the momentum in the fourth stanza. Could it be that Nets interim head coach Tony Brown changed the game’s momentum when he pulled Larkin out of the game at 6:40 in the fourth with the Nets down by one (90-89)and put in Donald Sloan?

Larkin was making his presence felt; dishing out a career-high 14 assists (previous high: eight assists done five times). He also chipped in eight points and a team-high six rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.

Larkin is in good company. The last five NBA players prior to Larkin to dish out 14-plus assists in a game in 23 or fewer minutes were: Russell Westbrook (3/4/14 vs. Philadelphia); Manu Ginobili (3/1/13 vs. Sacramento); Rod Strickland (4/23/95 for Portland vs. Golden State); Larry Drew (1/6/91 Los Angeles Lakers v. Golden State); and Muggsy Bogues (4/12/89 for Charlotte at New York). The dates indicate that 14-plus assists in 23 or fewer minutes by a player coming off the bench is no easy feat.

Drummond led the Pistons with 21 points and 18 rebounds and dropped the tie-breaking basket on a dunk with 1:30 remaining.

"I didn't do a great job with Drummond. He got some easy ones," Lopez said. "I tried to wrap him up at the end of the game, making him earn it at the line. But it was something that was a focus tonight."

Jackson, who almost got pulled from the game because of leg cramps by Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy, scored 19 points. As a matter of fact, all Pistons starters scored in double digits: Ersan Ilyasova (16); Kentavious Caldwell (16) and Marcus Morris (12).

Although the Pistons won, Coach Van Gundy was not happy with his team’s performance. Van Gundy can be heard in his own words here.

For the Nets, their effort couldn’t have been more inspiring

The last time Dwyane Wade visited the Brooklyn Nets, he broke their hearts-hitting clutch shots late, and the Miami Heat escaped with a 104-98 win. On Tuesday night, post-winter storm Jonas, Wade did it again. The old pro, like he’s displayed his entire career, he hit big shots late, leading the Heat to a narrow 102-98 victory over the Nets.

With 1:35 left in the 4th quarter, Wade lost Thaddeus Young on a screen set by Chris Bosh, as he made his way to the basket, uncovered. Luol Deng found him, Wade went up for the layup and finished, despite being fouled by Wayne Ellington, increasing what was a one-point 94-93 lead to 97-93 adding the free-throw. Moments later, the Nets would turn the ball over, one of their 16 TOs for the night and Wade made them pay.

He evaded Ellington, dribbled to the right side of the three-point arc, met Brook Lopez on the switch and drained a step-back mid-range jumper, giving the Heat a 99-93 advantage with 1:04 left in the 4th. Ten seconds later, Donald Sloan (10 points) would hit a three to make things interesting, pulling the Nets to within three, 99-96 but to no avail. Wade and Bosh scored 27 apiece, team highs, and rookie Justise Winslow impressed with 13 points and seven rebounds.

“Typical CB, typical D-Wade,” said Lopez who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.“You know, they do just a great job of moving the ball constantly on offense. You can tell they’re composed, regardless of the score.”

For the Nets, their effort couldn’t be more inspiring. The Nets won the 1st half, shooting 55 percent from the field and from three, heading into halftime with a 57-51 lead. In the third, the Heat responded and the Nets started to see their lead and momentum transfer to the opposing bench.

“I thought offensively we struggled in the second half,” Nets head coach Tony Brown said post-game. “I think our pace slowed down, and the ball didn’t move as freely as it did in the first half.”

The turnovers didn’t help either.

At the half, the Nets had three TOs. They finished with 16, including four in the first five minutes of the 3rd quarter, coupled with bad shooting, which helped the Heat start the 2nd half on a 10-1 run. After Bosh’s three with a little over eight minutes left in the 3rd gave the Heat their first lead of the game, 60-58 since 6-4 early in the 1st quarter, the Heat never looked back.

They took control of the 2nd half and the Bosh and Wade duo made sure the Nets wouldn’t have another upset win like they did against OKC. Like the Nets, Miami has been struggling as of late, and before wins against the Chicago Bulls, their previous game, and the Nets tonight, Wade and co. endured a four-game losing streak.

“It’s just important to come out here and get a win,” Wade said in the visitors locker-room following the win. “It wasn’t about backing up what happened in Chicago. We’re a team that lost four in a row.” He continued: “We had to go all the way into the bottom of the bag tonight to be able to pull this out, but we were able to.”

Thaddeus Young scored 12 points, Joe Johnson added 15 and Andrea Bargnani came off the bench to score a team-high 20.

The Nets did beat OKC not too long ago and although they competed against the Heat, Brown expressed that there are no moral victories and at the end of the day the Nets want to win games.

Their next shot comes this Friday @ the Dallas Mavericks.

"Maybe it’s a coincidence, but that’s the way we need to play every night. I guess we need to play every night like we’re playing OKC.” --- Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez

Winter superstorm Jonas arrived in NYC this weekend and blessed us with up to 18 inches of snow. Due to the storms results, the Brooklyn Nets pushed its late afternoon game against the Oklahoma City Thunder to the evening. Perhaps, just maybe, it had something to do with why the Nets decided to show up.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 31 points and 10 rebounds, his 18th double-double of the season, to upset the Thunder and their star-studded cast, 116-106.

“He was making shots,” Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant simply stated regarding Brook’s big night.

With the win, the Nets ended their five-game losing streak while stopping the Thunder’s seven-game winning streak.

Before this game, which was delayed by four hours, it was viewed as a sure loss by just about everybody and on Sunday night, the Nets defied the odds. They never trailed and other than the 3rd quarter where the Nets mirrored the Thunder in points scored with 25, Brooklyn outscored OKC in every other quarter. Whenever OKC got close, the Nets found a way to answer and score consistently, which is something the Nets have struggled with all season long.

Brooklyn Nets Scores when it counts

When OKC’s Kyle Singler drained a three, set up by Kevin Durant in the 2nd quarter with a little over five minutes left, bringing OKC to within one down 45-46, Bojan Bogdanovic and Andrea Bargnani answered with a three and jumper respectively, putting the Nets back up by six, 51-45. In the 4th with a little over six minutes remaining, Dion Waiters brought OKC to within five 93-98 after his two-point shot.

Shortly after, the Nets would spend the next three minutes sealing their 12th win of the season. Thaddeus Young scored twice en route to another solid performance, scoring 14 points with 14 boards and Lopez added two.

“We went out and executed, we ran our stuff all the way through,” Young said post-game.

Yes, the Nets finally won a game but the biggest winner of all was the fans.

Brooklyn’s faithful braved the aftermath of Jonas, got to witness a victory and also got to witness two of the league's greatest players in Durant and Russell Westbrook. KD and Westbrook both produced double-doubles of their own in 32 and 10 rebounds and 27 and 11 rebounds, respectively and after the game Durant praised Lopez and Young for their efforts.

“They were tough,” Durant said. “They kicked our ass all night, you know, rebounding the ball, scoring in the paint. They did what they wanted to.”

And that’s coming from a credible opponent, actually referencing the Nets. And Durant is talking about the Nets edging OKC on the boards 49 to 46, including 18 offensive rebounds, which led to extra possessions for Brooklyn. Steven Adams, OKC’s muscle in the post and starting center was missing in action which has a lot to do with the success Lopez, Young and the Nets enjoyed on the glass and scoring inside and to their credit, they took advantage.

It’s also worth noting that after the beat-down the Utah Jazz laid on the Nets on Friday night, the Nets were able to bounce back and that started with the team’s best player. Against the Jazz, Lopez was limited to eight points having to deal with Rudy Gobert’s block party all night long. Against OKC, guarded mostly by Enes Kanter, Lopez got his mojo back, which seems to happen more often than not when playing the Thunder. Brook is averaging 28.5 ppg vs. OKC this year.

“I don’t know,” Lopez said regarding his play against OKC this season. “Maybe it’s a coincidence, but that’s the way we need to play every night. I guess we need to play every night like we’re playing OKC.”

So basically, the Nets have to figure out how they can alter what’s left of their regular season schedule to take on the Thunder until season’s end. Or maybe the Nets finally got the message of what head coach Tony Brown has been emphasizing in sharing the ball recording 24 assists on OKC.

“I thought our guys heed the message, shared the ball, moving, moving bodies, and the floor opened up for us,” Brown expressed post-game. “The options will present themselves, if we don’t force it.”

Until Tuesday’s game hosting the Miami Heat, the Nets will have the chance to do something they haven’t done in a while: smile.

Brooklyn Nets stayed competitive up to close of 2nd Quarter; Utah’s 37-point third quarter doomed Nets recovery

Different opponent. Same result. Same old Brooklyn Nets.

It doesn’t matter who lines up as the next challenger, the Nets just can’t catch a break. Tonight the same old tune repeated itself, this time, featuring the Utah Jazz. With Derrick Favors, Dante Exum, and Alec Burks all out of the rotation due to injuries, Gordon Hayward, one of the league's most underrated players, scored a team-high 21 points with nine assists, leading the Jazz to a commanding 108-86 win over the Nets. The Nets fell to 11-33 on the season, their fifth straight loss while the Jazz improved to 19-24, a half-game out of the 8th spot in the west.

Hayward scored 10 of his 21 in the 1st quarter alone, hitting four of his first five shots which included two threes. Despite Haywards hot-start, the Nets, surprisingly enough got off to a good start. They held a narrow one-point lead over the Jazz going into the second quarter, but like most of the Nets losses this year, the 2nd half continues to be a problem and on Friday night that fact was validated once again.

The Nets gave up a whopping 37 points to their 17 in the third quarter. After ending the 2nd quarter on a run, the Jazz‘s offensive success carried over to the beginning of the third where they would enjoy a 13-4 run in the first five minutes of the quarter. Rudy Gobert, who provided highlights all night on both ends, along with Rodney Hood, Raul Neto and Trey Lyles are all responsible for increasing what was a reasonable eight-point lead to a 17-point advantage with a little over seven minutes left in the third.

Moments later, the Nets would call a 20-second timeout to regroup, with under five minutes to go, while hopefully disrupting the Jazz’s momentum but it didn’t matter. Seconds later, Hayward would evade Thaddeus Young, using a nifty crossover dribble between his legs, drive baseline, and convert a beautiful reverse layup, putting the Jazz up by 20, 71-51 with 4:23 left in the third.

“He’s scoring the ball and drawing a lot of attention now and the guy is stepping up and knocking down shots when they come to him,” said Hood reflecting on Hayward’s big night. “He’s just being aggressive, being who he is, being who he’s been all season really.”

It signaled one of the highlights of the game. It signaled what was going right for Hayward and the Jazz who clearly did not want to leave NY 0-2 after losing to the New York Knicks in OT on Wednesday night. It signaled another Nets loss. The Jazz would continue to pile on the points in the third entering the fourth with a 28-point lead, 85-57. Hood finished with 16 points, and Gobert, Neto and Lyles all chipped in 10 points each.

When the final buzzer sounded, the crowd treated the Nets like a Knicks loss during the Isiah Thomas era. The boos rained down on the home team and it felt like some of the darkest days the Knicks had to endure during that era.

It was too bad because the Brooklyn Nets had an encouraging first quarter. Every Nets starter scored, except Donald Sloan who recorded four assists. After that, the offense fell apart.

“I thought we had a good rhythm to start the game, and after the first quarter, we kind of lost it,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Tony Brown said post-game.

Brown continued to say that after giving up 37 points in the third quarter, the game was over which compelled him to give some minutes to other guys like Sergey Karasev and in the process, ending Brook Lopez’s night. The team’s best player scored eight points in just 19 minutes of play which could be one of his worst outings of the year. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets with 14 points coming off of the bench which is a major problem.

Joe Johnson wasn’t much of a factor scoring only eight points and Sloan ended his night with just two points. Offensively, the Nets are definitely challenged but it doesn’t help that the team is struggling to take care of the orange as well. The Nets only committed 11 turnovers on Friday night but it’s the timing of the turnovers that are hurting the Nets the most.

“The same song and story as it’s been the last couple of games,” a dejected Young said in the locker-room. “We get off to good starts, we have good first halves then in the second half we’ll have two or three crucial turnovers that kind of turns the momentum of the game and it just slips away from us.”

As bad as this year has gone for the Nets with no letup in sight as they host the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat in their next two games before they head westward, Brown is not giving up on his squad.

Brown wants to continue encouraging the guys to do things the right way.

“I am not going to change my approach,” Brown said. “I am going to keep coaching, but you know, there is some soul-searching to be done. I am going to keep fighting, I just hope they do.”

Don’t, we all.

Nets struggled on both ends, but to their credit, held Cavs to 91 points

On Monday night, at primetime, the Golden State Warriors handed the Cleveland Cavaliers their worst home loss of the season, 132-98. Unfortunately for the Brooklyn Nets, the Cavs were their next opponent. It was fun for Brooklyn and all of the fans in attendance who paid to see the stars that Cleveland has to offer, but not for the home team expected to defend their home-court.

From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the Cavs came to Barclays Center on Wednesday night and handled their business, beating the Nets, 91-78. It was exactly what the doctor ordered for the Eastern Conference leaders and while the Nets were within striking distance for the majority of the first half, the Cavs made their statement late in the third and never looked back. After Thomas Robinson’s layup cut the Cavs lead to 10, 63-53 with 4:41 left in the 3rd, Cavs reserve Matthew Dellavedova answered with a two of his own. Moments later, LeBron James added a three with three minutes and a half left in the third.

Dellavedova’s jumper kick-started a 10-2 run, increasing what was a harmless 10-point lead to an 18-point uphill climb for the Nets. To begin the 4th, the only Cavs starter in the game was J.R. Smith. For Lebron, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, their night was over. After scoring just three points against the Warriors, Love found his footing and rebounded in a big way.

He scored 17 points like Lebron and also grabbed 18 boards for the second time this season.

“I was just happy with Kevin going out there with a great mindset and getting back to his normal self,” Cavs head coach David Blatt said regarding Love’s bounce-back game. “Those are the kind of games he’s been giving us since the beginning of the year and for me, that is normal Kevin Love.”

He also assisted Lebron on his first two points of the game; a breakaway tomahawk slam. And the highlight play was the result of the vexing Cavs defense the Nets dealt with all night long. The Cavs scored 16 fast-break points and 19 off of turnovers they caused.

“Well, Coach has been pushing us about pushing the tempo, pushing our pace, getting up the floor, and I think we did that tonight,” Lebron said who also had five assists, just under his regular season average of six.

From the start, you could sense the urgency from the opposing team who looked like they were out to prove something and it would be difficult not crediting Golden State’s loss as inspiration.

“I’m sure it had something to do with it, but mostly it had to do with our guys reaching down and recognizing we had to get back on track right away,” said Blatt post-game. “It’s painful to get knocked down but it’s shameful to not get back up if you get knocked down. To the guys’ credit, they got back up and played a terrific basketball game.”

The Nets wish they could say the same. They only allowed 91 points to clearly the best team in the Eastern Conference but the offense wasn’t there.

Outside of Brook Lopez’s 16 points, Thaddeus Young chipped in 14 and Donald Sloan added 12 and nine assists. Wednesday’s loss signaled the Nets fourth straight and interim Head Coach Tony Brown continues to look for answers.

“I didn’t think it was our best effort since I have taken over,” Brown said post-game. “I don’t know if it was just because it was Cleveland, I don’t know, but clearly we can do better on both ends of the floor.”

If playing the best team in the Eastern Conference doesn’t rev you up to play, then what will?

Since Lionel Hollins was dismissed as the Brooklyn Nets head coach, the Nets have shown fight but against the Cavs they did not put forth the kind of effort they displayed against the Toronto Raptors, their previous game. As the offense went, the Nets went and the inability to get a rhythm going in the first half sealed the Nets fate for the remainder of the game.

After Cleveland, the road gets tougher. The Nets will host the Utah Jazz on Friday night who are fresh off of a tough OT loss to the New York Knicks and will then welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat. Nets’ fans expect wins, but more than wins, they expect a fight. It’s up to the Nets to decide whether that will be the norm going forward no matter how rough their season continues to be.