LOS ANGELES — At least this time, the Nets showed their intentions.
But they overcame that with a 102-101 loss to the Lakers, helped by late heroics from LeBron James and Austin Reeves, in front of a crowd of 18,473 at Crypto.com Arena.
Brooklyn tied it at 88-all about midway through the fourth after Ben Simmons hit a 3-pointer off Noah Clowney with 6:32 left.
But they watched the game get taken away.
They conceded 9-2 and the game was essentially over. James hit a jumper on Reaves to cap off the blitz and make it 97-90. The clock showed 4 minutes and 32 seconds left, but the game was effectively over.
The Nets got within 102-101 on a Clowney 3 and had one last chance.
But D'Angelo Russell, who was returning to play against the team he traded to Brooklyn on Dec. 29, narrowly missed a fadeaway 3-pointer.
The Nets (14-28) have lost seven of eight games and 10 of their past 12.
Nothing was more embarrassing than Wednesday's 126-67 loss to the Clippers.
At one point, the Nets trailed by 64 points, the worst final margin in franchise history and one of the bottom 10 in NBA history. They kept that in mind and fought back against the Lakers. There just wasn't enough.
“Obviously, that's not where we are or who we want to be, so we're just going to respond and come out and get a win,” Russell said of Wednesday's loss. “Just play hard. Our group, I don't think playing hard is something that has to be coached. We have a lot of hard-working guys. No matter who's playing, no matter who's playing on their team, just go out there and attack them as if we were another player or team playing.''
On December 29, the Nets traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Lakers for Russell and three second-round picks.
Finney-Smith was away to give birth to her son and was unable to play against her former team, but Russell got his chance.
And he made the most of it, finishing with 19 points and eight assists in six appearances off the bench.
“I'm very excited. It's very exciting. I'm excited to be on this side and attack those guys,” Russell said before the game about the possibility of playing against the Lakers. “[My Lakers stint] It was just a blur. I think once I got there, I was bound by what I personally had to accomplish to get in there. Not being there now is obviously something that you try to get over and just try to pass. But it's a place I've been to twice. There is a home for me. For me personally, it's a part of my career that I feel like it's something I can really take back. Thank you very much. And I'm just looking forward to moving on. ”
James had 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while Reeves scored a career-high 38 points.
“We've always been a reactive team, right? There's 82 games in the NBA season, and there's going to be some ups and downs. Obviously, I'm not going to find excuses, but we had a bad game, so what we can do is come together and try and come back.” We can only get better,” head coach Jordi Fernandes said before the loss. “We had some bad games and it's also important to wash that away and support the players. And I think our group, the energy that they have every day, and some things that you guys don't see. I love it.
“But I think it's a reflection on the court of how we compete and fight and get better. … And I don't know how I feel, especially when you're young. So I know the players are ready and like I said, with everything we've been through so far, the group has always responded positively. I’m here.”
That was positive. There just wasn't enough.
