Brooklyn Nets: 5 takeaways from smackdown at Golden State

The Brooklyn Nets had their 3-game winning streak ended with emphasis Saturday night as the Golden State Warriors pulled away for a 116-100 victory.

Saturday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., it was the ball movement that was first to go for the Brooklyn Nets. That was followed by the ball control. Then came any control over the outcome.

Finally, the Golden State Warriors made the Nets’ three-game losing streak go away with a 116-110 victory.

In their final visit to the old, once-renovated building in the East Bay, the Nets got off to a quick start, building an early six-point lead, but the depleted Warriors, playing without injured All-Stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, chipped away at Brooklyn.

Golden State (11-2) started to pull away with a 21-9 finishing burst in the first half to open a 65-53 lead at the break and then put the game away when the Nets (6-7) got sloppy with the basketball in the third quarter.

The Warriors still had a big three on Saturday night, even without Curry, as Kevin Durant went for 28 points and 11 assists, Klay Thompson had 24 points and Quinn Cook — starting in place of Curry, who strained his left groin in their loss Thursday — finished with 27 points.

The Nets stayed in the game in the first half despite cold shooting. Golden State hit 65.8 percent in the first half to Brooklyn’s 44.2 percent, but the game was tied midway through the period before the Warriors made their move.

Joe Harris scored 24 points, 19 in the first half, to lead the Nets. Jarrett Allen and Ed Davis had seven rebounds each and Spencer Dinwiddie finished with 14 points and six assists.

The game got out of reach in the third quarter, when the Warriors scored seven points off five Brooklyn turnovers and Golden State got nine points in the period from Durant.

The win was the Warriors’ eighth straight overall over the Nets and their seventh consecutive victory over Brooklyn at Oracle. Golden State will be leaving that facility at the end of the season for their new home on the other side of the Bay in San Francisco.

The Nets’ shooting improved in the second half, but they gave up 15 points off eight turnovers after halftime to offset the gains. Brooklyn shot 46.8 percent (36-for-77) overall, but was frigid from 3-point range, hitting just 7-of-24 (29.2 percent).

Golden State shot 55.4 percent (46-for-83) and was 7-for-16 (43.8 percent) from deep. The Nets outrebounded the Warriors 41-36, but Golden State scored 23 points off 15 Brooklyn turnovers. The Nets got back 12 points off 10 Warrior miscues.

Caris LeVert was held to four points and sat out all of the fourth quarter after leaving the game in the third period with a knee injury.

LeVert appeared to bang his left knee on the floor, but was at the scorer’s table ready to return to the game in the fourth quarter before coach Kenny Atkinson pulled him back and emptied the bench.

Even with the loss, the Nets are still 2-1 on this Western swing and will be facing a Minnesota Timberwolves squad on Monday that could be shorthanded.

The Timberwolves agreed to trade All-Star Jimmy Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, but the trade call won’t happen until Monday, which could prevent the newly acquired Wolves — Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless — from suiting up if the physicals don’t get completed in time.

Here are five takeaways from Saturday night’s streak-busting loss.