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Fourth Quarter Turnovers Cost Nets Against Pelicans, Drop Eighth Straight

By Charles Daye

Jan 8, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the second quarter against Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Sixers win 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the second quarter against Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center. Sixers win 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Nicole Sweet-USA TODAY Sports /
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147. 104. 69. Final. 95

With no Anthony Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Nets in Brooklyn, as the Nets drop their eighth straight game. The Brooklyn Nets now have the worst record in the league, 8-30.

The Brooklyn Nets shot an abysmal 9-of-42 (21 percent) from three (every player for the Nets attempted a three), but tied with the Pelicans in rebounds and turnovers. Regardless of the terrible three-point percentage, head coach Kenny Atkinson spoke of the motion offense and how the Nets need to keep believing in each other and shooting open shots.

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Brook Lopez scored 20 points (50 percent shooting) with six rebounds, and Sean Kilpatrick scored 18 points (50 percent shooting) with seven rebounds.

At the end of the first, the Nets trailed the Pelicans 35-31. Lopez, Trevor Booker, Isaiah Whitehead,and Bojan Bogdanovic were all tied in scoring with eight points. Jrue Holiday had the game-high with 10 points. Brooklyn would go on an 8-0 run to take a three point lead in the second quarter.

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Brooklyn outscored New Orleans 26-16 in the second to give them a 57-51 at halftime. Lopez led the Nets in scoring with 11 points, Bogdanovic had 10 points, and Caris LeVert had eight points off the bench. Holiday scored game-high 13 points at half. Brooklyn’s largest lead of the first half was eight, and they were also outrebounding the Pelicans (25-23) and outshooting them (44 percent compared to 42 percent).

Whitehead walked back to the locker room early in the third quarter, after he landed awkwardly on a shot attempt. He would not return and finished with only four points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 15 minutes.

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Terrence Jones was relentless in the third, constantly causing problems for Lopez and the Nets. However, the third quarter held no woes, as Brooklyn tied the quarter with New Orleans 22-22, giving the Nets the 79-73 lead going into the fourth.

With no true point guard in the fourth, Brooklyn turned the ball over seven times. As the Nets unraveled, Jones and Tyreke Evans contributed to a 13-1 Pelicans run late in the fourth to seal the game. Evans finished with 29 points on 66.7 percent shooting, scoring most of his points in the final quarter, as New Orleans outscored Brooklyn 31-16 in the fourth.

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LeVert was the only Brooklyn player with a positive plus-minus point differential. Hopefully the Nets can stay positive despite having a league-worst 8-30 record. Their next game is in Toronto  against the Raptors on Friday.

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