Although they held multiple second half leads and played pretty good overall basketball, the Brooklyn Nets (17-43) fell to the Los Angeles Clippers (39-20) by a score of 105-95 on Monday night at Staples Center. The defeat snapped a two-game winning streak for the Nets, who are now four games into a season-long nine-game road trip.
Brook Lopez, a California native, led the Nets with 25 points and 10 rebounds while Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 on 5-for-12 shooting. Wayne Ellington, who left the game with a concussion in the third quarter, scored 13 points (10 in the first quarter) while both Thaddeus Young and Thomas Robinson contributed double-digit rebounding efforts. Jamal Crawford scored a game-high 26 off the bench for the Clippers and Chris Paul posted 23 points and 12 assists for the home team.
Brooklyn got off to a great start in this game, scoring 10 of the night’s first 12 points before a Clippers run quickly tied the score up at 12. The Nets managed to stay within two points at the end of the frame and went ahead in the second, before a half-ending three from J.J. Redick gave them a 52-46 lead at the intermission.
A similar trend followed in the third quarter, in which the Nets led by as much as six, but a Los Angeles 8-0 run at the end eliminated the Brooklyn advantage and gave all the momentum back to the home team. The Nets hung around at the start of the fourth but faded down the stretch as they couldn’t score at all, making for a 10-point loss that was much closer.
Here are some other notes and observations from the game:
- The Nets aren’t good enough to beat a top tier team when they don’t make their free throws. Brooklyn got to the line an impressive 33 times but only made 23 (just under 70 percent) of its attempts. Guards Shane Larkin and Markel Brown combined to go just 2-of-7 from the charity stripe, which is unacceptable. That’s way too many points to leave on the court.
- This has been a staple of Nets teams going back to New Jersey, but the inability to close out quarters is a major problem that really dealt a blow to Brooklyn’s chances tonight. Redick’s three at the end of the first half was a result of weak perimeter defense while the Clippers’ third quarter run could be owed to just bad offense on the Nets’ part. After a Thad Young floater put them up 79-73, the Nets gave up a Chris Paul layup, two contested Jamal Crawford jumpers and a Wesley Johnson hoop. Crawford, who was the reason the Clippers won this game, couldn’t be stopped all night and Paul is going to get his layups because of his dribbling wizardry. But, the Nets neither used a timeout nor slowed the ball down to limit Los Angeles’ momentum and this just made things worse.
- More good passing! The Nets had 25 assists on their 32 made field goals, which is right where Tony Brown probably would like to see his team. The ball movement, with nice back-cuts and smart pick-and-rolls, was spot on in the first half but wasn’t there in the second. Brooklyn is now 3-3 since the All-Star break and the most recognizable change since then has been the movement and passing, which is why the Nets were even able to hang around with the Clippers, who shot almost 50 percent from the field. That’s how you make do offensively with a limited roster.
- Thomas Robinson only played 13 minutes, but he was, once again, one of the most active Nets all game. His rebounding skills aside, the former lottery pick just makes plays even if he has a lot of trouble finishing at the rim. The bench unit for the Nets was actually decent during its run in the second quarter (not the fourth) and that was partially due to Robinson’s play.
- Sean Kilpatrick, signed to a 10-day contract yesterday, made his Nets debut and played a minute in the second quarter. If Ellington’s concussion causes him to miss some time on this trip, Kilpatrick figures to actually get some playing time.
Onto the next one: Tuesday night in Los Angeles (again) at Staples (again) versus the lowly Lakers.
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