By: COOPER ALBERS / CHIEF SPORTS EDITOR
To think it was going so well.
The Brooklyn Nets welcomed the Detroit Pistons to Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon, looking to improve their record to above .500 for the first time this season. Holding an early lead, the Nets offense disappeared in the second half and the team ultimately lost the game 106-92.
“Offensively, it was the worst half I’ve seen us play,” noted first-year Head Coach Jordi Fernandez in his postgame interview. “Obviously you have to give [Detroit] credit with their physicality but I think they did it in the first half too… They called a timeout when we were up nine in the third and everything went downhill. This is just a game that we all have to look in the mirror and be better tomorrow.”
The Nets concluded the first half with a 57-52 lead, riding the hot hand of forward Cam Johnson. After scoring eight straight points within the first three minutes of the game, the 28-year-old finished the half leading both squads with 22 points, the highest scoring first half for a Net this season.
Johnson knocked down three of the six three-pointers he attempted in the first half, continuing to showcase his ability to shoot at an efficient clip from deep early in games. Last season, he shot over 45% from three (87-190) in first halves, marking the fifth highest 3FG% among the 185 players that attempted 100+ first half threes last year.
However, Johnson went cold in the third quarter – shooting 1-4 FG and 0-3 3PT – and the rest of the team struggled to pick up the slack. The Nets were outscored 31-20 in the third, continuing their pattern of coming out flat in second halves. In their first seven games, Brooklyn has been outscored six times in the third quarter.
The offensive drought continued throughout the rest of the second half, with the team shooting a deflating 2-15 from beyond the arc. They failed to regain any momentum that they had early on, getting outscored 54-35 in the half and eventually ending the game on the wrong side of a 14-point blowout. Johnson finished the game with 26 points (3-12 from deep) while Cam Thomas was held to just 17 points, snapping his streak of 12 straight home games with 20+ points.
When asked about the second-half struggles, Johnson emphasized the Nets had chances to score but simply couldn't cash in.
“I thought we had great looks,” he said. “[My shots] all felt good, they just didn’t go down... We definitely got quality shots, but just have to convert them.”
While Brooklyn faltered offensively in the second half, Detroit was firing from all angles. Six Pistons scored in double figures, led by Cade Cunningham who tallied 19 points to go along with five assists and six rebounds.
Uncharacteristically, Brooklyn struggled immensely from the foul line as well. Coming into the game, the Nets ranked third in the NBA in FT% (.828), yet they connected on just 19 of the 31 free throws (.613) they attempted throughout the game.
The Nets were also dominated on the boards, getting outrebounded 47-27. Forward Ben Simmons led the Nets with just six boards, while Pistons center Jalen Duren recorded a season high 17 rebounds.
“I gotta do a better job on the boards. Obviously, we lost that by 20,” noted Johnson, who recorded just one rebound in his 30 minutes on the court.
Falling to 3-4 this season, the Nets look to bounce back against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, hoping to return to .500 with a win at home before heading on a three game road trip.
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