The Nets’ five game road trip ended with a 121-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
They now travel back to Brooklyn for a four-game homestand that will define the rest of season.
Advertisement
Thunder All-Star star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — with help from budding star Josh Giddey and Net killer Lugentz Dort — ended Brooklyn’s impressive streak, which included convincing come-from-behind victories over two NBA championship contenders: the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets.
Tuesday provided the Nets an opportunity to secure a victory in a winnable game that could have gone a long way toward helping the team’s playoff standing.
Advertisement
Instead, the Nets fell short — just before the schedule takes a turn.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Thunder roll over Dorian Finney-Smith and Nets on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Gilgeous-Alexander put up his 38th 30-plus-point game of the season, Giddey recorded a triple-double, and Dort hit six threes for 24 points and nine assists.
He has scored at least 20 or more in each of his last four games against the Nets.
The Nets, who built a reputation as the best third-quarter team in basketball over the previous six games, entered halftime up 10, but finished the third quarter down eight.
Mikal Bridges finished with a team-high 34 points, and Cam Johnson added 23 on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.
The Nets led by as many as 16 points in the first half before the offense sputtered in the third quarter.
And after the Thunder found ways to dice the Net defense down the stretch, Brooklyn is set to welcome the NBA’s elite to Barclays Center for a four-game stretch sure to test the bounds of their newfound No. 1 defense.
The Nets host the Western Conference’s No. 3 Sacramento Kings on Thursday, host Nikola Jokic and the West’s No. 1 seeded Nuggets in a matinee game on Sunday, then welcome Donovan Mitchell and the Eastern Conference’s fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back games.
Advertisement
The Nets just defeated the Nuggets in Denver in one of their best games of the season, but the Nuggets believe they got caught sleeping.
The Pinstripe Express Weekly The Daily News sports editors handpick the week’s best Yankees stories from our award-winning columnists and beat writers. Delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >
The stretch then continues on the road in Miami against a Heat team that may have turned a corner by creeping into the East’s No. 7 seed, followed by a trip to Orlando hours later in the second game of a a back-to-back against a long, athletic and spry Magic team.
The Nets came out of the All-Star break with the NBA’s seventh-most difficult remaining schedule in all of basketball. They lost their first four games out of the break, then won five games in six tries before dropping the ball against the Thunder on Tuesday.
From this point on, the Nets have the 12th lightest schedule, though their upcoming six-game stretch is as difficult a slate of games any team has to face.
Brooklyn entered Tuesday in a virtual tie with the Knicks for the No. 5 seed, and the two teams are tied at 2-2 in their season series, meaning the tiebreaker criteria would come down to division record. The Knicks are 8-8 in the Atlantic Division and the Nets are 7-8 with their final division game on April 9 in Brooklyn in the season finale against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
And if the Nets finish with a more favorable record than the Knicks in their final sprint to the postseason, they can evade the No. 3 76ers, who are three-and-a-half games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a much more favorable first-round opponent if the Nets maintain hold of the East’s No. 5 seed.
Advertisement
If they don’t, with the surging Heat, there’s no guarantee the Nets hold onto six, meaning every game counts from here on out if the Hets want to stay a playoff team this season.
Starting with an upcoming stretch at Barclays Center — hosting Sacramento, Denver, and Donovan Mitchell twice — before a trip to Miami to face a motivated Heat team in the first leg of a back-to-back shortly after.
Nets drop winnable game in OKC ahead of tough homestand
- Advertisment - 
Recent Comments
on CONCEPT ART: New Details Revealed for Disney Cruise Line Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point Destination
on “Completely Knocked Me Out”: Rob Lowe Recalls Boxing Match With Tom Cruise On 1983 Brat Pack Classic
on CBS Sports announces Matt Ryan will join NFL studio show. Longtime analysts Simms and Esiason depart
on Carlos Sainz’s Soccer Fanboy Emerges as Spaniard Shares Defining Moment With This Real Madrid Legend
on Biden: ‘At this point I’m not’ planning to visit East Palestine, Ohio, after toxic train derailment
on ‘Best Intention’: Chris Kirk Has Absolute Trust in Jay Monahan and PGA Tour’s Widely Debated Model
on Ahead of big sports weekend, dispute with Disney leaves millions of cable subscribers in the dark
on A heavy wave of Russian missile attacks pounds areas across Ukraine, killing at least 4 civilians
on 2024 Super Bowl: CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports HQ to combine for 115 hours of weeklong coverage
on 2023 NFL All-Rookie Team: CBS Sports draft expert, former GM unveil league’s best first-year players
on Army vs. Coastal Carolina live stream, how to watch online, CBS Sports Network channel finder, odds
on AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez Spreads Joy and Sportsmanship to the Youth of Loma de Cabrera
on After UFC Fallout, Conor McGregor Offers a Valuable Piece of Advice to Free Agent Francis Ngannou
on Dubai International Airport sees 41.6 million passengers in first half of year, more than in 2019
on Devout athletes find strength in their faith. But practicing it and elite sports can pose hurdles
on Despite strong Lunar New Year holiday data, consumer spending in China isn’t roaring back just yet
on Dave Portnoy: Taylor Swift’s security should ‘drag Kim Kardashian to jail’ if she attends Eras Tour
on CONCEPT ART: New Details Revealed for Disney Cruise Line Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point Destination
on “Completely Knocked Me Out”: Rob Lowe Recalls Boxing Match With Tom Cruise On 1983 Brat Pack Classic
on CBS Sports, Serie A announce new TV rights deal; Paramount+ to air over 400 Italian soccer matches
on Cam Newton’s Violent Public Incident Draws Hilarious Reaction From 3x All-Star: “Where Do I Sign Up
on Boston College vs. Army live stream, how to watch online, CBS Sports Network channel finder, odds
on Angel Reese Launches Foundation Dedicated To Empowering Women Through Sports & Financial Literacy
on A weaker dollar, skyrocketing prices and ‘record’ visitor numbers: Good luck in Europe this summer