Nets’ Defensive Woes Continue Against Heat, Lose Sixth Straight

The Brooklyn Nets were demolished by the Miami Heat in their final game in the month of January, 104-96. Brook Lopez logged the most points for Brooklyn, while Goran Dragic was the high man for Miami with 20 points.

The Miami Heat came into this matchup healthier than they were in their first meeting with the Nets. Josh Richardson was the only player on Erik Spolestra’s squad who sat out this game. For the Brooklyn Nets, Jeremy Lin and Joe Harris were both sidelined with injuries.

The Nets picked up right where they left off in their last contest with Heat last Wednesday, as they fed Brook Lopez early. The big man scored six of Brooklyn’s first 10 points. Despite this, every Net contributed to an early seven-point lead, with four out of the five starters logging a bucket in the first five minutes.

Miami, who was riding a seven-game winning streak coming into this contest, played through Net-killer Dion Waiters in the opening minutes. He netted three buckets and one three in the first. Despite committing four turnovers early on, the Heat’s abundance of threes kept the game competitive. As the final seconds of the quarter winded down, Rodney McGruder splashed home a series of buckets to cut the Brooklyn lead to four.

The Nets led 32-28 after 12 minutes of play.

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Former Net Willie Reed put his team in front early in the second. Both offenses then went cold for a long stretch. The Nets were shooting an abysmal 1-of-9 from behind the arc midway through the second.

Miami simply had no answers for Lopez in their second matchup with the seven-footer this season. He was quick to notch another easy bucket when he re-entered the game in the second, but his presence alone was enough to draw double teams and open up shots on the perimeter. This led to Kenny Atkinson‘s squad building a double-digit lead early in the second.

Then, in true Nets fashion, Miami went on a 15-0 run to claw their way back into the game. This run was capped off by a highlight reel block from Hassan Whiteside that will no doubt run rampant on social media. That play was truly the turning point in the game.

The Heat went into halftime with a four-point lead.

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A series of defensive breakdowns by the Nets gave Miami a nine-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Brooklyn continued their shooting woes, as they only shot 8.3 percent from three after a inexcusable brick from Trevor Booker. Taking advantage of this mishap, the gap was then extended to double digits after a smooth hook shot from Whiteside via Waiters.

The Nets’ young guns then began to slowly chip away at the deficit. This was in large part due to their impeccable free throw shooting, as they were 100 percent from the line at that point in the game.

Brooklyn trailed by a manageable margin of seven points heading into the final quarter.

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Miami thrived off the pick-and-roll game early in the fourth. Whiteside and Miami’s guards were in sync as they looked to put the hammer down on a floundering Nets squad.

The Heat, playing off the energy of their home crowd, stunted any progress the Nets made at a comeback. Every punch they threw, the Heat seemed to punch back with more force.

The Nets set up one last comeback attempt with two minutes left in regulation. To no one’s surprise, this attempt came up short, as turnovers and defensive breakdowns hindered Brooklyn until the final buzzer.

Miami came out on top in this one, 104-96. The Heat extended their winning streak to eight, while Brooklyn lost their sixth straight contest.

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Brooklyn will come home for a contest against their cross-river rival New York Knicks on Wednesday.