In a game the Nets absolutely had to do, they lost, they beat, they outplayed.
The Nets were punched first but never fought back, losing 106-102 to Memphis in front of a crowd of 15,847 at Barclays Center.
The Grizzlies may have lost, but the Nets lost by their own ambiguity.
“When we went into the game, we didn’t keep swinging. And if you don’t keep swinging, you’re going to get knocked out, and they knocked us out. First of all, me, the coaching staff, the players,” Interim Head Coach Kevin Ollie said. “We stopped swinging, but we can’t do that. We’re not talented enough to do that.”
The Nets (24-37) lost momentum from back-to-back wins against Atlanta and are now 2 1/2 games out of the East’s final play-in spot. On Tuesday, they host the 76ers while the Hawks play at The Garden across the East River.
Yes, you could say they simply lost on a run that broke the Grizzlies’ 9-0 fourth quarter tie and broke their backs. But they end up lying to themselves.
The Nets went 17-of-30 from the foul line.
They lost that by repeatedly losing Luke Kennard on the perimeter.
And most importantly, the team’s fire slammed them against the glass, 51-33, and they lost.
“Our effort wasn’t enough to get the win, and every game it took its toll,” Oley said.
“We didn’t pay enough to get this win. That goes for the coaches too, guys. You have to pay a cost to win. It’s effort, it’s energy, it’s all together. It’s about playing, it’s about hitting, it’s about doing all those little things. And we miss opportunities.”
Or maybe the Grizzlies will beat him up and take it away.
Memphis (21-41) has lost five straight and was without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart and Jaren Jackson Jr. with injuries. The Grizzlies only had nine active players.
That turned out to be enough to cause a crushing loss for the Nets.
“We need to win every game, especially a game like this one. They’re losing a lot of players, so this loss is definitely going to hurt. But we have to wash it away and get ready. It won’t happen [Tuesday]” said Nick Claxton. He had 21 points and six rebounds, but was assessed a serious technical foul that cost him the Nets’ only real points of the night.
Mikal Bridges was held to just 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
“They just played harder than us. They outplayed us by a lot. They take a lot. [blame] On both ends…just boxing, not getting rebounds. So it’s just tough,” Bridges said. “This is bad for me, but [I] take great responsibility for [it]. That’s just the worst.But you have to prepare [the 76ers]”
They had Kennard (a player they absolutely, positively had to continue to cling to) score 25 points on 6-of-9 from deep, but those numbers were just too much. It seemed open enough.
His three made the deficit 71-63 with 5:53 left.
It was still 75-68 until he connected on some stops. He got away with nine unanswered and Claxton’s dunk with 2:22 left in the third gave them a 77-75 lead.
But Claxton picked up the careless technical and was pulled, giving Memphis a 5-0 mini-run to end the quarter.
Cam Johnson hit a three with 8 minutes, 41 seconds left, and the Nets evened the game at 88-all. However, they never got over the hump and quickly conceded a 6-0 run and fell behind forever.
Kennard’s midrange jumper made it 94-88. The clock showed 4 minutes and 43 seconds until the start of the game, but the game was over. His 3 widened the lead to 99-90, but the Nets fell short on a late 10-4 run.
Dennis Schroder (13 points, 9 assists) made a free throw to bring the Nets within three points.
Bridges was fouled with seven seconds left on a third down attempt to make it 105-100, but sank his first two and intentionally missed the third. However, a lane violation gave Memphis the ball and Kennard iced it at the line.
“This game pays you when you’re not locked in,” Johnson said. “It’s our responsibility. We have to be better.”
