The Nets’ first winning streak of the season is over, ended with Thursday’s 123-110 collapse against the equally-tanking Jazz at Barclays Center.
In what promises to be a league-wide season-long tank-a-thon, whoever is the most committed may win. And the Nets showed signs of long-term strategy, resting Michael Porter Jr. in a clash that could have draft lottery implications.
The Nets (5-17) are tied with the Kings for fourth in the lottery odds, and it was the fourth quarter against the Jazz that got them there.
After building a 90-79 lead with a half-minute left in the third quarter, the Nets imploded and shot just 36.8 percent in the final period, including 2-of-11 from deep.
They turned over the ball seven times in the fourth and were outscored 14-0 off turnovers to flip what looked like a third straight victory into a galling defeat.
“It was a complete disconnection,” coach Jordi Fernández said. “I don’t care about the fatigue or whatever you want to call it. You have to stay focused and locked-in. This is the NBA.
“I know the back-to-backs. We’ve been really poor. [On Thursday,] we played hard for three quarters, and then in the fourth, it’s been a disaster, collectively. It was the energy and then the body language, and we have to be all better.”
Noah Clowney had a team-high 29 points, but with Porter out managing his back soreness, the Nets managed just 11-of-42 from 3-point range.
The Nets led by as much as 15, and it was still 90-79 with 31 seconds left in the third. That’s when they went ice cold. They allowed a 25-8 Jazz extended run that flipped an 11-point lead into a 104-98 hole.
“We went into the fourth up 11, maybe something like that. Then they cut it real quick and it was, like, four and it was tied, and then they end up making shots. We couldn’t get a good shot,” Clowney said.
Ziaire Williams added 23 and rookie Danny Wolf 17 with nine rebounds. But they sorely missed Porter in the fourth quarter, bereft of their closer.
“We had control of the game for the most part and then let it get away,” Wolf said. “Defensively in the second half, I don’t think we did nearly as good a job as we could have. I think it was an extremely winnable game and let it slide.”
Lauri Markkanen had a game-high 30 for the Jazz, who are 8-13 and tanking to hold onto a top-eight protected pick that could otherwise be owed to the Thunder.
Keyonte George added 29 and 10 assists.
After Clowney rebounded a George miss, Wolf drilled a right-corner 3-pointer to put the Nets up 77-72. Rookie Ben Saraf’s steal and breakaway dunk capped the blitz to make it 83-74. And another Saraf swipe led to Wolf’s baseline drive that pushed it to 90-79 with 31.8 seconds left in the third.
But the Nets imploded from there, conceding a 33-13 Jazz extended run to fall behind 112-103.
“You can’t make excuses. We just need to be more locked in. It’s the small stuff that we can control. That’s the areas we need to be better at,” said Nic Claxton, who had 12 points, nine boards and four assists.
The offense got sloppy in the fourth, but unlike the night before against the Bulls, it cost them.
Porter has been so good for the Nets, he’s begging questions no one ever thought would need to be asked.
A. Is he playing so well that he endangers the Nets’ tanking?
B. If so, do they have to find a taker for his huge contract — $38 million this year and $40 million the next — to ensure their future rebuild, or can he actually become a part of that rebuilt future?
If it’s the latter, they may have to start getting creative and rest him the way these same Jazz shamelessly did last year with Markkanen. Thursday could be the first of many.
