Brooklyn Nets Fall Short Once Again in Tight Game Against Bucks

147. 129. 89. Final. 125

The Brooklyn Nets have lost a franchise record 16 straight games at home and their last 14 games. This is their worst losing streak since the 2009-10 season, as they fall to 9-47.

Brook Lopez scored a season-high 36 points (60 percent shooting) and tied his career high in blocks with eight. Lopez is the first player in NBA history to make six three-pointers and have eight blocks in the same game. The “Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Brooklyn Nets, 129-125.

Brooklyn started the game by almost immediately turning the ball over. However, Bojan Bogdanovic would quickly reset the tone, scoring in the Nets’ first few possessions. Greg Monroe led the Bucks in the first quarter with 12 points (6-for-6), all in the paint. The Nets trailed the Bucks, 39-33, at the end of the first quarter.

Trevor Booker had 10 points in 10 minutes off the bench. Booker provided much-needed offense off the bench, but even with his second-unit scoring, the Nets still trailed by as much as 12 in the second quarter. The Nets tied up the contest at one point, but trailed the Bucks, 62-60, at halftime.

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Lopez had quite the first half, scoring 22 points on 63.6 percent shooting. Brooklyn as a team shot 45.8 percent (22-of-48) from the field, 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from three-point land, and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the charity stripe. The Nets only trailed by two points despite out-rebounding the Bucks (24-23), dishing more assists (16-13), and committing more turnovers, six compared to their four. The Bucks shot 53.5 percent from the field and had 15 fast-break points. More impressively, Milwaukee shot nearly 68.4 percent from downtown in the first half.

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The Bucks began the second half with a 15-5 run. Lopez stayed aggressive offensively, preventing the game from getting too out of hand. The Nets cut the lead to four, but Milwaukee extended the lead to 13 before the end of the quarter. Brooklyn got outscored 31-22 in the third and trailed Milwaukee 95-82 at the end of the third.

The Nets cut the Bucks’ lead to two with a little over one minute left in the game. Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris took advantage of their late, meaningful minutes.

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The Nets have lost their last nine games by single digits. Silver lining Jeremy Lin will (most likely) return after the All-Star break, just in time for Brooklyn’s annual “Circus Road Trip.”