The Nets put up a valiant effort, but in the end, they lost to the Warriors 117-101

The Brooklyn Nets danced with the stars, but blew a 16-point halftime lead, losing to the Golden State Warriors 117-101 on Thursday night at the Barclays Center.

Minutes before tip-off, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters that he wanted the story to be that his team fought and played hard, hoping that the fans would see Brooklyn at their best and that they did everything to win.

“Give them a lot of credit. I thought they turned up their intensity,” Atkinson said. “They turned up their energy. They were really aggressive on the defensive end, and we have to do a better job of protecting the ball. Obviously, that was kind of the story there, and again I like to give them credit.”

Walking into Thursday’s night, Atkinson had high hopes for Brooklyn, but reality had already set in before the closure of the game.

The Nets held their own for a while: they kept up with the 2015 NBA Champions and looked as if they had a chance to contest. Brooklyn’s energy was on 100, and many wondered if they could keep the momentum up.

Brooklyn tried hard and performed a great first half as always: they soared 65-49 over the Warriors. Brook Lopez scored 23 points in just the first half, marking a Nets season-high for points in a first half. ESPN even noted that Lopez is the first player this season to score that many points against the Warriors in the first half.

But Lopez’s single-player prominent stat only went but so far. The Nets committed 18 of 26 turnovers in the third quarter. Lopez and Jeremy Lin combined for 11 overall turnovers together. Brooklyn choked under defensive pressure and blew their double-digit lead in the early minutes of the second-half.

“It is a young team,” Lopez said. “We did a good job trying to stick with it. But we became less aggressive, and they got a lot of easy stuff out of the turnovers.”

Lin finished 10 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. Lin, who has returned to the Nets’ active roster from a hamstring injury has struggled to find his rhythm.

“They doubled Brook in the post and blitzed Jeremy in the pick-and-roll,” Atkinson said. “Those guys have to do a better job of kicking it out. It’s a work in progress, but we need to find more solutions.”

Atkinson and the Nets did not find a solution quick enough, as Brooklyn lost to the 2016 NBA Champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the very next day, 119-99. However, to Brooklyn's credit, it did pull off a 120-118 win against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.

Good and bittersweet in Cali: Warriors tie the Chicago Bulls 1995-96 most wins in a season and Kobe Bryant is set to take his last dribble as an NBA player

In this episode of What's The 411Sports recorded on April 12, 2016, What's The 411Sports hosts Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about the:

Outcome of the Augusta National Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia;

Adam Schefter's interview with Greg Hardy;

Johnny Manziel;

Golden State Warriors;

Kobe Bryant;

The New York sports report;

The Golden State Warriors tied the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls winning season record at 72 games;

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant NBA playing days coming to an end;

NY Jets left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson retired

NY Yankees

NY Mets

Brooklyn Nets

NY Knicks; and

Louisiana Tech women’s head coach Tyler Summit resigns, as he should, and is now on the What’s The 411Sports bench

Events coming up in the What’s The 411Sports pipeline are:

• The NY Mets will play in Cleveland on April 15-17.
• The Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 18.
• The NY Yankees will meet up with former teammate Robinson Cano when the Yankees play the Seattle Mariners on April 19 – 21 at Yankees Stadium.
• The Kentucky Derby, the first leg of a potential triple crown in horse racing is on Saturday, May 7.

US Women’s Soccer Filed Suit Against US Soccer Federation; Warriors Lose to Celtics But Still Want 73 Wins, 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame Class Named

In this episode, the What’s The 411Sports team of Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about and asking lots of question about recent sports news and events.

Congratulations to the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2016:  Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Sheryl Swoopes, John McClendon, Darell Garretson, Tom Izzo, Zelmo Beaty, Yao Ming, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Cumberland Posey.

Five members of the US women’s national soccer team including notable names like Hope Solo and Alex Morgan have filed a wage discrimination action against the US Soccer Federation. The action was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming that while the women’s team generated approximately $20 million more in revenue than the men’s team, the women were paid about 25% less than their male counterparts.

San Francisco 49er’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick met with John Elway, executive vice president of football operations and general manager of the Denver Broncos, signaling that Kaepernick could be headed to Denver. Would this be a good move for Colin Kaepernick?

After a 54-regular-home-game win streak, the bubble burst and Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors lost at home to the Boston Celtics 109-106 on Friday, April 1 (no April Fools joke).

NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament definitely put the “madness” in March Madness; at the buzzer, Villanova beat UNC 77-74.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin returns to lineup as the Clippers face the Washington Wizards at the Staples Center. It will be the first time that Griffin will play since Christmas after a tearing his quadriceps. His absence was further extended after a hand injury due to an altercation with the team’s assistant equipment manager which garnered a four-game suspension. And, Griffin’s quadriceps isn’t completely healed. Is this a good move for Griffin to play before complete healing?

Who on the current Brooklyn Nets team will be back next season? Both Keisha and Mike would like to see the return of Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. However, Keisha would also like to see newcomer Sean Kilpatrick in a Brooklyn Nets uniform next season.

The YES Network and Comcast are at war.

Can the New York Mets get back to the World Series, and do the New York Yankees have a chance to win the AL East?

New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey is on the bench for his childish behavior towards the New York sports media following the New York daily newspapers' reports on his urinary tract issues.