Nets blow late lead to Pelicans as losing streak…
The Pelicans are the worst group in the NBA. But the Nets have been the more serious group Wednesday.
Brooklyn blew a 12-point lead — and an eight-point fourth-quarter cushion — to fall 116-113 before a crowd of 16,201 at Smoothie King Center.
After taking part in properly last month, the Nets (11-27) have struggled since the calendar flipped. Brooklyn has the longest losing skid in the league at 5 straight, and has now dropped eight of their past 9.
The Nets (11-27) sit fifth in the lottery standings. They have been just a recreation behind fourth-place Washington pending the Wizards tilt against the Clippers later Wednesday night time, and two video games clear of idle sixth-place Charlotte.
Pelicans ahead Zion Williamson (1) blocks Michael Porter Jr.’s (17) shot during the first half of the Nets’ 116-113 street loss to the Pelicans at Smoothie King Center IMAGN IMAGES via GWN Connect
Brooklyn led 110-107 after rookie Egor Dëmin’s long 3-pointer with 1:28 left. But they allowed seven unanswered factors and never led again.
The Nets trailed by three in the ultimate seconds and botched the last-ditch play. Michael Porter Jr. — who led the Nets with 20 factors — missed a 34-footer.
Trey Murphy III had a game-high 34 factors and Zion Williamson added 25. The Pelicans have signaled they plan to maintain onto both.
New Orleans (10-33) had misplaced 11 of 12 and got here in with the worst document in the league, but don’t even have the silver lining of having the best lottery odds. They owe their first-round choose to Atlanta after last 12 months’s surprising draft-night commerce when they moved up ten locations to take Derik Queen.
The Nets held Queen off the scoreboard until 1:50 left in the third, and to 4 factors on 0-for-4 capturing. But the Nets still misplaced.
With the sport knotted at 105-105, rookie Drake Powell bought fouled and hit two of three at the charity stripe to put the Nets forward by a deuce. Murphy tied it, but Dëmin untied it with a clutch go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:28 to play.
But Saddiq Bey evened it on a 3-pointer of his own with a minute left, then — after Dëmin defended Murphy into a missed 3-pointer — the Nets let Bey beat them for an offensive rebound and go-ahead putback with 21 seconds left in regulation.
The Nets bought the precise shot they might’ve needed, a clean Porter look. But he missed a nook 3-pointer, and the Nets never led.
Egor Dëmin (8) brings the ball up court against Trey Murphy III (25) during the first half of the Nets’ street loss to the Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
A Drake Powell 3-pointer bought them within one with 5 seconds left. And down three after two Bey foul photographs, and no timeouts left, the Nets botched a closing possession when they almost threw the ball away to Karlo Matkovic and had to settle for a desperation 34-foot heave by Porter that had little probability.
After the Nets had price themselves with slow begins in the past few video games, this time they got here out centered. Brooklyn raced out of the blocks to go forward 16-6 on a Powell basket.
The lead reached a dozen when they doubled up New Orleans 24-12 after Dëmin’s contact cross to Nic Claxton with 5:44 left in the first quarter.
But it was knotted at 87-87 going into what turned out to be a dramatic fourth.
Day’Ron Sharpe rebounded a Bey miss, and dunked off a Terance Mann feed. Then after Queen missed a pair of photographs in close, Mann stole the ball from him and drilled a 3-pointer to put Brooklyn up by 5.
Following a Williamson turnover, Cam Thomas cleared out and bought by Bey to the rim for a scoop and a 94-87 lead with 10:10 to play.
Danny Wolf hit a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key to cap a 10-2 run and pad the lead back to 97-89. But the Nets couldn’t maintain it.
Wolf fouled out and the Nets allowed a 16-4 run to give up the lead altogether.
Murphy’s 3-pointer put New Orleans forward 103-101. And after Yves Missi outfought Claxton for an offensive rebound and putback, the Nets discovered themselves in a four-point gap.
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