In their return after the All-Star break the Nets looked out-of-synch in a 113-99 loss to the visiting Portland Trail Blazers at Barclays Center.
With the combination of Jusuf Nurkic and former New York Knick and cross town foe Enes Kanter the Nets(30-30) were overpowered on the boards and in the paint on Thursday night.
Nurkic finished the game with 27 points and 12 rebounds while Kanter added 18 points and nine rebounds. In the third quarter alone the Blazers’ (35-23) big men scored 17 of the Blazers’ 34 points. The Blazers’ were dominant inside, out rebounding Brooklyn 60-49, giving up 19 offensive rebound and scoring 66 points in the paint.
“I see 19 offensive rebounds. We couldn’t corral. I think we did a decent job on [Damian] Lillard and [CJ] McCollum, just a tough time rebounding tonight,” said Kenny Atkinson “I said pregame that’s one of the things we’re focused on, so I’m disappointed there was no carryover from the emphasis at the All-Star break.”
The message may not have translated on the court, but it certainly is one the Nets players understood going into the game.
“It’s huge. You know, they definitely killed us on the boards tonight. Kanter and [Rodney] Hood and the rest of the guys. To win games you definitely need to get stops and get defensive rebounds,” said Ed Davis, who spent three seasons in Portland before signing with the Nets this past offseason.
Brooklyn’s Shooting was just as problematic finishing the games with 39.1 percent field goal percentage and 7-of-36 from behind the three-point arc. Even worse they go just two points from Rondae Hollis Jefferson and Travean Garaham who combined for 1-10 shooting from the field.
“I think we were missing a lot of shots. I wouldn’t minimize it by saying just the three-point shot,” said Nets All-Star D’Angelo Russell, who finished the night with 14 points and eight assists. “It’s hard to win a game when you’re getting outrebounded. They weren’t making a lot of shots either, but they were killing us on the second chances. I think we give ourselves a better chance if we don’t allow them to do that versus them separating the game from second chances. That was the separation.”
The poor shooting and rebound performance did overshadow the strong defensive performance Brooklyn had against Lillard who finished the game with 13 points shooting 23 percent from the field.
Even with that the Nets were completely out of sync.
“We didn’t have great rhythm tonight, didn’t play well. I think that’s across the board – didn’t coach well, didn’t play well,” said Atkinson. “There’s just no way around it.”
It wasn’t all bad for Brooklyn who after trailing 23-21 at the end of the first period went on 13-2 run to take a 34-25 in the second quarter. But after ending the half tied 50-50, the Nets quickly gave the game away after Kanter and Nurkic took over in the third with Portland building 82-67 lead.
After a 12-0 run in the fourth the Nets brought the lead down 90-89 and looked as if they were ready
to make another big comeback, but after an Al-Farouq Amin jump shot and a pair of free throws Portland sealed the deal never looked back.
The loss keeps the Nets—who are sitting in the sixth seed in the eastern conference standings— only a game and half ahead of the Charlotte Hornets (27-30), who they face on Saturday night at the Spectrum Center. The Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic are also creeping behind in the standings, and if Brooklyn continues to play with inconsistencies they can find themselves on the outside of the playoffs.
