Nets Fall To 7-18 In Close Loss To Heat

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Final: 12/16/2015

L 98 104

AP_746688628092

And to think: for $1.9 billion, all this can be yours!

Even when they trailed, this was one of the more entertaining Nets games of the season: athletic plays by both teams, tough shots falling from Nets starters and backups alike, and the Nets kept it close enough to make it interesting down to the final few seconds.

The Nets cooked early, taking an eight-point lead after one quarter on the strength of Brook Lopez and Jarrett Jack, before losing it with a failed small lineup that featured Joe Johnson at power forward and Andrea Bargnani at center.

Things went back-and-forth until the Heat took control in the fourth quarter, holding the lead with some fancy Dwyane Wade dribbles and Hassan Whiteside finishes, and Wade eventually put the dagger in with a tough floater on the left side with under a minute left.

This was a much stronger effort from Brooklyn than Monday night, but at the end of it, they’re still 7-18.

Brook Lopez

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The stats: 25 PTS, 12-16 FG, 6 REB, 0 TOV, 4 PF

That’s one way to bounce back from two Jar Jar Binks-esque performances. (That’s a bad Star Wars thing, right? I’m not a Star Wars fan. Don’t tell Brook.)

Whiteside jumps out of the gym looking for blocked shots, which Lopez can use to his advantage: when Whiteside’s exuberance take him out of position, Lopez takes advantage with his size and skills to create looks or find offensive rebounds.

That’s part of why Lopez generally plays better against long, lithe centers like Whiteside instead of burly power guys like the Nikolas (Pekovic, Vucevic).