For the first nine-plus minutes of Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans, the Nets looked as if they might finally snap out of their recent struggles.
Then reality set in.
After the Nets took a 14-point lead late in the first quarter, the Pelicans took over, destroying Brooklyn over the next two-plus quarters to cruise to a 111-91 win at Barclays Center.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Nets (25-37) — all at home. The Nets were unable to fight back after the Pelicans outscored them, 67-36, from late in the first quarter through the end of the third.
“That’s all year long,” coach Lionel Hollins said. “I think that competing is what this business is about.
“That’s the reason I played, the reason I coach — to compete. It’s not about the money, it’s not about the fame, it’s not about anything but going out there and competing and earning the respect of your opponent.“That’s all that matters. People can write good or bad about you, and you can make a lot of money or not make a lot of money but the money doesn’t matter when you get between the lines.”
If money bought wins, the Nets — with the highest payroll in the NBA — would have no trouble making the playoffs.
Instead, tThe Nets are now three games behind the Hornets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference heading into Wednesday’s game in Miami against the ninth-place Heat.
At this point, though, it’s hard to see how the Nets are going to make any kind of push for one of the final two open spots in the East — even given the weak level of competition around them — after the way they have played the past week.
“This is a big game for us,” Deron Williams said, “But at this point, every game is a big game for us.”
It’s hard to believe it was only a week ago they had come out of the All-Star break with wins in four of their first six games, including back-to-back victories at Dallas and at home against Golden State. That seemed to signal a turning of the tide after a rough first 50 games.
But the Nets have lost four consecutive home games against beatable opponents — the Hornets, Suns, Jazz and Pelicans — to fall into 11th place in the Eastand give themselves quite a hill to climb to get back into the playoff picture.
“It was looking up for us[after beating the Warriors], and like we were about to go on a run,” Williams said. “Now, it’s quite the opposite.”
To make matters worse, the Nets suffered three injuries against the Pelicans, with Alan Anderson (tailbone), Markel Brown (right ankle) and Sergey Karasev (right knee) all leaving the game.
But while Anderson and Brown both will make the trip to Miami (Anderson didn’t speak to the media after the game, but Brown said he was fine after “turning” his ankle), Karasev will not after a nasty collision with Pelicans big man Alexis Ajinca caused his right leg to bend awkwardlyand left him on the floor writhing in pain. The Nets said Karasev had a sprained right knee, but further tests will be conducted Wednesday.
“I hope it’s not too bad,” Hollins said. “I don’t want to see anyone get hurt.… It leaves basketball at this point.”
The Nets hit 10 of their first 14 shots — Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young combined to go 8-for-9 from the field — to take an early 25-11 lead.
From that point on, though, it was all New Orleans. The Pelicans (36-29) outscored the Nets 12-2 to close out the first quarter, and then, after the teams exchanged baskets early in the second, went on a 29-13 run to take a 55-46 lead into the halftime break.
The Nets missed their first eight shots of the second half, allowing the Pelicans to begin the third with a 15-4 run capped by a thunderous alley-oop dunk from Anthony Davis that made it 70-50 halfway through the quarter. That signaled to everyone in the building the final 18 minutes were going to serve as a mere formality.
“It’s a little mind-boggling,” Joe Johnson said. “I don’t know. Whether we get off to a great start, slow start, it doesn’t matter.”
Unless the Nets figure things out soon, the results might not matter, either.