Nets lose steam in 3rd quarter that could not be recaptured and bows to Wizards at home on Monday night at the Barclays Center

Before a crowd of 12,529, the Nets blew a 15-point lead thanks to a sloppy third quarter. Brooklyn, who led 66-51 at the half, looked great. Brook Lopez, Sean Kilpatrick, and Trevor Booker all scored in double digits. At the time, the team was 8-16 from the three-point line and 56.5% from the field. Then, Brooklyn went into the locker room. At first, the game looked like fun basketball for the team, who has been struggling without their injured star point guard, Jeremy Lin. What happened at the start of the third quarter was a disaster. The 15-point Nets lead was soon cut into a 5-point lead, being outscored 32-15 by the Wizards. The Nets soon looked like the same ole Nets.

“Their aggressiveness got to us and we started playing a different game. Obviously, between that run and the turnovers down the line, it hurt us,’’ Lopez said. “We were playing well, doing our thing. But obviously, the second half was inversely just as rough.”

Lopez was right: Brooklyn lost steam and blew probably the best second half the team has played all season.

At the end of the third quarter, the Wizards lead 79-74.

Everyone knows that it's not how you start, but it's how you finish. The Nets just couldn't finish the game. They dismantled all momentum built in the second half.

Kilpatrick, who scored 21 points, said his team has to want it.

"The third quarters are kind of crazy,’’ Kilpatrick said. "It has to be a situation where everyone wants to take the third quarter seriously. … We lax in the third quarter and that’s when teams come back and bite us.”

The Wizards defeated the Nets 118-113. Washington was able to gain the only win of their three-game road trip. John Wall finished with 25 points, 11 of which were scored in the fourth quarter.

"I was just being aggressive," Wall said. "I missed some shots in the third quarter that I was mad about. But the defense was giving me shots and I had it rolling and I just kept making them."

The Nets (5-15) are currently ranked 14th in the Eastern Conference. Next up: Denver Nuggets.

The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-110

A historical night in New York, while both Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump await results that will determine who will run the country, the Brooklyn Nets were the clear winner in this city. The Nets, seemingly unfazed by the election soared over the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-110 for the win.

Veteran Brook Lopez led his team with 26 points in only 28 minutes. After a small halftime lead (66-65), the Nets knew some offensive adjusting needed to be done.

“Coach (Kenny Atkinson) came in and said our guards only had three rebounds (at halftime),” Lopez said. “That was the battle … Once we had all five guys contributing on the defensive glass, it kind of took care of itself.”

Trevor Booker scored 15 points and Sean Kilpatrick added 14. At least 8 players on the Nets finished with at least eight points—something Kenny Atkinson was pleased with.

“We’re sharing the wealth a little more and in the perfect Utopian motion system, that’s what it should look like, where it’s really everybody’s touching it,” Atkinson said after the game.

Isaiah Whitehead, still in for the injured Jeremy Lin, handled the ball nicely for the Nets, along with some help from Kilpatrick. Whitehead had a little scare in the first quarter after T-Wolves power forward Gorgui Dieng accidently trampled his head. Overcoming the stint, Whitehead returned in the second quarter and finished with six points.

“I’m not sure how many charges he took tonight … Maybe two, but he tried to take like five charges,” Atkinson said while praising the Brooklyn native. “That’s Coney Island toughness.”

The win for Brooklyn will only build up momentum for the team after losing against the Hornets last Friday.

On Wednesday, the Nets will take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden—the first matchup between the New York teams of the season.

Rookie Isaiah Whitehead put up a valiant effort in Jeremy Lin's absence

The Brooklyn Nets fell short to the Charlotte Hornets 99-95 on Friday night at the Barclays Center, stumbling in the final minutes of the game.

The Nets (2-4), who were looking for another early season win, started off the game strong—up at halftime 50-43, but couldn’t seem to keep the momentum. After the game, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson gave kudos to Charlotte for stepping up their defense in the second half.

“I thought that third quarter really hurt us. I thought we got stagnant, I thought the ball stopped moving, and again, they got into us, they started denying some passes (and) got us out of rhythm. So, good job by them; credit to them,” Atkinson said.

Without Jeremy Lin, who is expected to miss at least two weeks due to a strained hamstring, the Nets tried to keep up on both offense and defense, and when the Hornets doubled on Brook Lopez, it made it hard for Brooklyn to stay consistent.

“I just think of the guys that are out there, and I want our offense to run well, whoever is in there. It is just for some reason we just didn’t have any rhythm, and I think they got into us,” Atkinson added.

And that’s what the Hornets did. After keeping the game close, and leading for most of the first half, Charlotte put a stop to the Nets, allowing a 23-6 run in the third.

In Jeremy Lin’s absence, Isaiah Whitehead, made his first NBA start for Brooklyn and in only his fifth career game. Playing 23 minutes, he scored 8 points with three assists and two steals. A Brooklyn native, who attended Seton Hall, Whitehead received some advice from Lin on the bench. Throughout the game, Lin was seen advising Whitehead with a pen and a notepad in his hand. Whatever advice Lin was giving Whitehead during the game, at the top of the list must be learn how to communicate with Lopez.

“We just weren’t finding him,” Whitehead said of Lopez, while criticizing his team’s effort. “We should always find him in the right spots. It’s our job to get him open and call the right plays.”

Lopez, who played 29 minutes, scored 18 points and reached 9,000 points after scoring his 16th point.

Up next for Brooklyn: Minnesota. The Nets will take on the Timberwolves on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8 at the Barclays Center.