ORLANDO, Fla. — Returning to the same spot they thoroughly embarrassed just two weeks ago wasn’t enough incentive for the Nets to guard.
I’m starting to wonder what’s going to happen.
Brooklyn lost to the Magic 114-106 in front of a crowd of 18,846 at the Kier Center, their worst performance of the season.
AP
And in this disappointing campaign, that’s a low bar.
On Feb. 27, the Nets had every incentive to bounce back after a 27-point loss in the same building capping off a five-game road trip that Nick Claxton admitted was “punked” by the Magic. But if all the recent terrible losses haven’t set a fire in their hearts, you have to wonder if there’s still anything left to burn.
“No, I wouldn’t say that.” [one loss is incentive]. We’ve had our fair share of tough games, but if that wasn’t enough to wake up a lot of them, then that one unique game in Orlando was not,” said Cam Johnson, who is coming back from three losses. Missed the game. “So I think we understand that.”
But the Nets (26-40) did nothing about it. Or certainly not enough.
Despite being fairly healthy with Johnson back, the Nets allowed the Magic 51.9 percent (61.5 percent in the first half) on 8 of 14 deep shots.
They also got some comical help from the Magic (38-28), whose big man Jonathan Isaac actually threw a potential rebound into the Nets’ basket.
This made the score 80-67 with 5:22 left in the third. Rookie Jalen Wilson gets credit for his efforts, but the Nets had a lot of responsibility to take on Wednesday.
Thomas scored a team-high 21 points and Mikal Bridges added 17 points, but the Nets made just 7-of-26 shots from deep. Paolo Banchero led seven Magic players in double figures with 21 points and nine boards.
Brooklyn was briefly four games behind Atlanta for the last play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, and five games behind Atlanta for the losing spot.
The Hawks played in Portland on Wednesday night.
The Nets still have two games remaining in their six-game road series this season — Saturday in Indiana and then in Austin against the Spurs.
The Nets have been very inconsistent lately, with losses to Memphis, Atlanta and Sunday’s Cleveland, as well as blowout losses to the Grizzlies, Pistons and Hornets. I’ll add Wednesday to the list here, not because of who they lost to, but because of the complete lack of defensive effort they showed.
“We didn’t start with as much energy or more energy than they brought to that game.” [two weeks ago]was displayed. That’s one thing. He just brings consistent focus and energy every game, no matter who he’s playing or what the game is like,” said Lonnie Walker. “In the last seven games, we’ve had some pretty good wins, but we’ve also had some pretty bad losses.”
The Nets surrendered a Magic Blitz early on, 12-2, and it ended with Franz Wagner dunking Wendell Carter Jr.
By the time Johnson checked into the game with 5:27 left in the first quarter, Brooklyn was already in a 19-11 hole.
The Nets trailed 33-16 after one game, and their defense could only be described as abysmal. They forced Orlando to shoot a perfect 8-for-8 in the paint early on.
Down 36-19, Brooklyn, trailing seven unanswered, finally looked to answer. Thomas hit a 3-pointer off Johnson to pull the Nets within 10 points.
But they couldn’t build on that momentum. Bridge’s Eurostep was blocked by Carter, leading to a fast break by Gary Harris, making the score 54-38.
Then Harris made a layup, giving them a 56-38 lead with 4:34 left in the first half.
The Nets fought back with a 16-3 run, briefly cutting the lead to five points. Thomas’ 3-pointer made it 59-54 with 33 seconds left in the first half. But that’s as close as they come.
The Nets allowed Orlando to pull away again. Claxton made a dunk, but then was hit with an unnecessary elbow and his ninth stupid technical of the season. Wagner made the next free throw to make it 70-61, and the momentum disappeared. Brooklyn didn’t try the rest of the night.
