NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets were probably coming into their game against the New York Knicks on Monday on a high after pulling off a win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Monday went about as well as expected as Brooklyn led New York 79-75 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Nets weren't able to keep their good play going to finish the game.
"Just probably a little unorganized offensively. Bad spacing leads to bad floor balance, and they get good looks on the other end because of them [those mistakes]," forward Julius Randle said after Monday's 103-90 loss to the Knicks. The Nets lost the fourth quarter to New York 28-11 due to the fact that Brooklyn shot 18.8% from the field while the Knicks shot 45.5% from the floor in the period.
"I
think it's all of us. You can't just put it on one person. It's a team game. It's five players out there," Randle continued. "So, we got to be be better at communicating, understanding the moment, what's going on. Like I said, it's all five of us. We all got to be better out there."
Randle finished the game with 21 points and 11 rebounds, but his tough shooting stretch continued as he shot just 5-of-16 from the field and 0-for-4 from behind the three-point line. In the fourth quarter, Randle and guard Nolan Traore, who had 17 points and four assists, were the only players to score in the period, something that the veteran referred to that has happened to the Nets down the stretch.
For the season, the Nets have been essentially even when it comes to the fourth quarter as they have a 1.2 net rating (111.6 offensive rating - 110.3 defensive rating), which ranks 15th in the NBA heading into Wednesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets. While Brooklyn has had some issues closing games so far this season, they still have some positives to work with as they continue working to get better as a unit.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Julius Randle explains fourth-quarter letdown in loss to Knicks
