HOUSTON — The Nets can't buy baskets. Or beg for victory.
Brooklyn fell apart in the third quarter, losing 112-101 to the Rockets on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of 16,563 at Toyota Center.
This extends the Nets' losing streak to five, dropping 10 of their last 11 games. This slippage is making it all the more difficult for them.
“Oh, it was frustrating. Of course,” Nick Claxton said of the team's atmosphere. “I mean, no one likes to lose. We're not used to losing. But we can't let it be contagious. And we have to learn from it, keep our spirits up and keep our processes right. Yes, stay positive. It's easier said than done. But that's our challenge now. And we have to see that light at the end of the tunnel.”
I hope it's not the subway.
The Nets (15-20) at least showed a little bit of fight, but it wasn't the embarrassing performance they had against the Pelicans the night before.
The Nets led by five points in the third quarter Wednesday, but went on a 15-1 run that included the first 10 points without scoring and never tried again.
“I like the fact that they don't accept where we are. I feel like we should have won more. We should have won the game. We should have been able to make shots. So I feel for them in that situation. ,” said Jacques Vaughn. “But at the same time, we have to keep trying to win ballgames.”
The Nets haven't won a ball game not against the pathetic Pistons since Dec. 13.
Their shooting slump continues Wednesday, as they shot just 38.7 percent from the field and 13-of-44 from 3-point range.
Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson each scored 15 points, with Bridges scoring 5 of 18 points. And it was efficient compared to Cam Thomas.
Thomas, Brooklyn's leading scorer, has been in an even worse personal slump. He was held to just four runs without a hit in seven games and has missed 20 consecutive attempts from the field over the last three games.
It was the worst skid in memory for the high-scoring young guard.
“Oh yeah, this is my first time, but I think people forget that I'm human,” Thomas said. “It's only my third year, so I'm sure there will be ups and downs. I don't know why it's such a big deal when I'm on vacation. I'm human, so I'm sure there will be some bad games like this. But as far as I'm concerned, , [I] Stay confident. ”
The one-two punch of Houston center Alperen Sengun (game-high 30 points, eight rebounds) and point guard Fred VanVleet (21 points, 10 assists) proved to be too much to overcome.
The Nets had eight steals and forced 12 turnovers in the first half, leading 50-49 at halftime. But Brooklyn didn't have an answer after the Rockets moved Sengan to the elbow to make the trap harder.
The Nets held a 64-59 lead until 7:54 left in the third on Bridges' driving floater, but they missed their next three shots and Houston hit the next four.
Thanks in part to a successful challenge from Houston coach Im Udoka, a quick 10-0 onslaught over the next minute and a half turned a five-point lead into a five-point deficit. Sengun's layup made it 69-64 with 6 minutes, 21 seconds left on the clock.
The Nets missed six shots in a row and forced the Rockets to make five in a row. Three of those shots came from behind the arc.
Sengun's free throw extended the lead to 74-65 with 5:04 left in the third.
At that moment, Brooklyn let go of the rope all at once.
“We just let our guard down a little bit. It must have been as intense as it was at the beginning. [half]said Royce O'Neal, who scored 13 points.
The lead reached 13 points in the second half, and VanVleet's 3-pointer made it 107-89 with 4:44 left.
The ultimate disgrace was that Vaughn challenged an out-of-bounds call that was overturned, resulting in a shooting foul on O'Neal. It was that kind of night for the Nets, and it was kind of a slump.
