The Brooklyn Nets (3-9) had one game left on their four-game road trip before they could head home and regroup with a three-game homestand that will include two games of the NBA Cup. After beating the New Orleans Pelicans in impressive fashion, Brooklyn had one last test on the road at the Memphis Grizzlies (9-4) on Saturday, but the Nets were two steps behind all game long.
The Nets lost to the Grizzlies 129-110 as they fell behind 38-23 to end the first quarter and seemingly weren't able to fully recover despite making some impressive runs in the second half. Forward Julius Randle had 22 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals while trying to make up for forward Michael Porter Jr.'s absence while center Day'Ron Sharpe had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.
In the first quarter, the Nets fell behind by as many as 18 points as they couldn't prevent the Grizzlies from getting whatever they wanted on the offensive end, especially from behind the three-point line. By halftime, Brooklyn trailed Memphis 71-54 despite playing much better in the second quarter due to the fact that the Nets weren't able to get more stops on the defensive end of the floor.
Guard Javon Small, guard Cam Spencer, and forward Cedric Coward did the majority of the damage for the Grizzlies in the first half as they combined to score 38 of Memphis' 71 points. As a team, the Grizzlies shot 13-of-23 (56.5%) from behind the three-point line and once they got going from three-point range, the Nets just weren't able to counter from being stretched all over the floor.
In the third quarter, it was more of the same for the Nets as they couldn't string together stops on the defensive end of the court while players like Coward and forward Taylor Hendricks were keeping the pressure on Brooklyn's defense. Memphis was unrelenting in the paint as they continued to punish mismatches and converted virtually every time they were able to turn the Nets over.
In the fourth quarter, the Nets managed to make a promising 15-2 run midway through the period, but it seemed like they just didn't have enough gas to finish the deal as they never got much closer to tying the game. It didn't take much longer before Fernandez emptied the bench and the Nets dribbled out the ball of yet another blowout loss to a compromised Memphis team.
Brooklyn came into this game with some good news and bad news as guards Nolan Traore and Mikel Brown Jr. were available, but sharpshooting forward Michael Porter Jr. was unavailable due to personal reasons. With the Nets mostly-healthy, head coach Jordi Fernandez was able to go 10-deep in the rotation while players like Randle and Sharpe were trying to pick up the slack in Porter's absence.
The Nets end their road trip with a 1-3 record and while they had an impressive win over the Pelicans, Brooklyn has to figure out how to perform better against some of the better teams in the league. With a matchup against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers looming on Monday, the Nets have to make strides somewhat if they're going to put up more of a fight in front of their fans.
Here are three takeaways for the Nets following Saturday's loss to the Grizzlies:
Noah Clowney Continues Elevated Performance
Clowney looked like he had reached his lowest point of the season when he fouled out in just eight minutes against the Dallas Mavericks, but since then, he looks to have his head on straight. After Saturday's game against the Grizzlies, Clowney has put up at least 15 points, three rebounds, and three stocks (steals and blocks) in each of his last two games so it seems that he's finding his rhythm.
Julius Randle Picks Up Scoring Lack, But Turnovers Still An Issue
With Porter out for this game due to personal reasons, Randle was going to have to pick up his scoring if the Nets were going to have a chance of beating the Grizzlies in their home arena. While Randle had an impressive statline across the board: 22 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals, he once again turned the ball over nearly as much as he picked up assists, now giving him 5.0 assists and 3.8 turnovers per game for the season.
Once Again, Nets Take 1 Step Forward And Two Steps Back
In Wednesday's 145-111 win at the New Orleans Pelicans, the Nets looked like they had turned the corner against a Pelicans that was clearly going through more than just losing heading into the game. However, following this game, the message among the team was once again about the disconnection from the team and that could mean this issue will take more than just one game to solve.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 129-110 loss to Cedric Coward, Grizzlies
