The Nets strode into Milwaukee atop the Eastern Conference. After getting swept by the Bucks in a huge two-game set, they staggered out as close to third place as to first.
A fourth-quarter collapse cost the Nets in a humbling 124-118 defeat before a sellout crowd of 3,280 at Fiserv Forum. It may take until the regular season ends and the playoff seeds are set to know exactly how much it cost them.
After arriving in town a half-game ahead of the 76ers in the East, the Nets (43-23) lost Sunday and Tuesday to tie their season-worst with a third straight loss. They’re 1 ½ games behind Philadelphia, and just 1 ½ clear of Milwaukee. The Nets also lost the season tiebreaker to the Bucks and are just a game ahead in the loss column.
If the Nets’ pride wasn’t stung after this one, it should have been. They blew a five-point lead in the fourth quarter, and they were not tough enough or hungry enough or physical enough down the stretch during a decisive 18-1 run.
“It’s not necessarily the forte of our roster, but there’s no excuse for not trying to match or be more physical than the other team,” coach Steve Nash said. “That’s something we’ve got to emphasize and continue to grow into.”
Kyrie Irving had a game-high 38 points and Kevin Durant added 32. But Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 36, and the Nets got gouged on the glass; they were outrebounded 55-39, including 15-6 on the offensive boards.
How bad was it? Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo got as many offensive rebounds by himself as the Nets’ entire roster did.
“I’m definitely disappointed we were outworked. They were more physical than us on both ends of the floor. That can’t happen,” Blake Griffin said. “We have to match the intensity. That’s a thing you can control. That’s on us.
“We can’t let guards come in and affect the game the way they did. Donte DiVincenzo had six offensive rebounds: That can’t happen. We have to want it more, and be the more physical team on both ends of the floor.”
Instead, they were more physical on neither end.
On offense, the Nets mustered just nine second-chance points. They went just 16-for-26 from the free-throw line. And, with James Harden still out with a right hamstring strain, no player other than Durant and Irving topped 12 points.
On defense, it was worse during that decisive 18-1 run. Far worse.
“Yeah, we had a poor stretch,” Nash said. “It was a photo of the night in general that they were just overall more physical than us at both ends of the floor.
“We’ve changed teams more or less a number of times, so we’ve got a gap to make up as far as our understanding of one another. And while we make up that gap, we’ve got to be more physical, got to win 50-50 balls, and got to do the dirty work.”
The Nets led 103-97 after Mike James (10 points) came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer and cap a 25-12 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters. But they suddenly went ice-cold.
The Nets were 0-for-5 with a couple of turnovers during the Bucks’ 18-1 run, which lasted more than four minutes. Milwaukee, meanwhile, went eight-for-14, including an all-too-easy drive by Khris Middleton (23 points). His floater came against no defensive resistance whatsoever, leaving the Nets in a 115-104 hole with 5:52 to play.
“Their team got hot,” Durant said. “We didn’t rebound enough. They shot 14 more shots than us, and a team like that we can’t allow that to happen.”
Nash didn’t call a timeout during the decisive run. And while he admitted perhaps he should have, neither he nor the Nets thought it would have made a difference.
“Maybe I should’ve,” Nash said. “But at the same time I don’t think that was gonna make a big difference at that point.”
The Nets did mount a 10-3 spurt to claw within 122-118 on a pair of Irving free throws with a minute left. But they couldn’t get over the hump.
“We got outworked. So, what, you’re going to call a timeout and say what? Play harder?” Griffin asked rhetorically.
“That should just be a thing that we visually see and we know to do a better job at.”
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