Brooklyn Nets: 5 takeaways from foray with the defending champs

Trying to bounce back after a heartbreaking loss to Anthony Davis and the Pelicans, the Brooklyn Nets fought their way back against the mighty Warriors, only to fall short once again.

Well, Friday night happened and with a day off between games, the Brooklyn Nets prepped for a game with the Golden State Warriors. From playing against a playoff team with one of the best players in the league to playing the reloaded defending champions. Talk about a busy weekend.

The Nets played a solid first quarter, keeping the game close and were only down 32-29 at the quarter’s end. The Nets defense had been disruptive and effective despite giving up 16 points to Stephen Curry. Caris LeVert and D’Angelo Russell brought the offensive firepower early.

And then the floodgates opened.

The Nets’ bench struggled to keep up with the Warriors and their offensive firepower. At one point, the reserves gave up a 15-3 extended run into the early minutes of the second quarter.

To end the first, the Nets seemed to have worked on emphasizing ball security, limiting themselves to two turnovers. By the end of the half, the team had a total of eight.

The Nets also had given up a high quantity of quality shots off of bad shot attempts. In one instance, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson took a contested shot that clanked off the side of the backboard that led to an open Golden State bucket.

The Nets were outscored 31-20 in the second to finish the half down 14 points, 63-49.

To start the second half the Nets start off strong, keeping the lead from getting out of control. However, the team got into early foul trouble. The backups for the Nets continued to work through their shortcomings against the Golden State reserves, keeping the team competitive.

The Warriors’ lead ballooned up to 19 before a set of 3s continuing from the third brought the team as close as 10 in the opening minutes of the fourth. After a string of midrange buckets from the Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, the Nets found themselves back down by 16.

A stretch of hot 3-point shooting by Russell and Allen Crabbe brought the Nets back into single digits halfway through the fourth. The Nets cut it to two when back-to-back buckets from Durant and Curry gave inside position to the Warriors to win.

Alfonzo McKinnie, the second-year forward from Green Bay, continued to kill the Nets with his energy and his scoring ability, finishing with nine points. Curry finished with 35 and the all-time record for consecutive games with at least five 3-pointers, extending his streak to seven games.

Durant and Klay Thompson finished with 34 and 18 respectively.

LeVert’s 23 and Russell’s 21 brought the scoring punch for Brooklyn, with Dinwiddie  adding 12 points and Crabbe, to the pleasure of many Nets’ fans, found his three-point stroke to finish with 14 points.

During an all-in-all solid defensive game by the Nets, the offensive boards still killed the squad, a 12-5 deficit on the night.

The Nets look to get back on the winning track after back-to-back losses Monday against the New York Knicks.

Here are 5 takeaways from Sunday night’s game.