The Brooklyn Nets dropped their 15th straight home game with a 112-103 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night. The Grizzlies were led by 32 points from Mike Conley and efficient bench play from Vince Carter and Brandon Wright. The Nets were powered by a balanced scoring attack, as five Nets scored in double figures.
Brooklyn quickly fell behind by double figures in the second quarter as 40-year-old Vince Carter added 3 first half three-pointers to plague his former team. The Nets trailed by as many as 12 in the second quarter but continued to hang around. The Nets fought through a 10-0 Memphis run near the end of the first quarter, and an 8-0 run during the middle of the second quarter, trailing at halftime by just 10 points, 52-42.
Brook Lopez had a hard time finding a basket in the first half, shooting 1-8 with just 4 points and 2 rebounds. Thankfully, the second half was a different story. Lopez finished with 17 points and shot 7-18 shooting as the Nets continued to linger around in the third quarter.
The Nets trailed by 15 in the middle of the third quarter, when Sean Kilpatrick ignited a quick 7-0 run with a series of long jumpers and active hands of the defensive end. When Kilpatrick banked in a three-pointer as the shot clock expired and cut the Memphis lead to seven going into the fourth quarter, it looked as if the Nets might make a game of this.
Memphis bounced back to start the fourth quarter and, by the 6:18 mark, opened the lead back up to 16. One thing the Nets did not do tonight was roll over and die — which is, thankfully, one of the franchise’s strongest traits this season. A quick 13-4 Nets run got them within 7 point with just under 4 minutes remaining but this run was stopped at the hands of Conley once again. The last few minutes of the fourth belonged to Conley as he provided the separation Memphis needed to finally put the game out of reach.
In the end, the Grizzlies’ offensive attack was too much for the Nets. Like Brooklyn, Memphis also had 5 players with double-figure scoring, including the aforementioned Wright and Carter off the bench with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
The Nets are back at it Wednesday night in Brooklyn for their final game before the All-Star Break and their fourth and final meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Caris LeVert
C
The stats: 2 PTS, 1-6 FG, 2 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3 TOV
Caris LeVert got 21 minutes in what was a slow night, to say the least. He has been a constant provider off the Nets’ bench since his debut in December, but tonight he was contained.
Spencer Dinwiddie
A
The stats: 17 PTS, 5-8 FG, 4-5 3PFG, 3 REB, 1 AST
A season-high 17 points for Spencer Dinwiddie and an overall effective performance. Dinwiddie shot 4-5 from three-point territory and has looked to put an end to all of the Yogi Ferrell talk.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
A-
The stats: 13 PTS, 4-6 FG, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 1 TOV
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson continues to show good signs starting for the Nets. He got them off and running early with 7 early points and one thing he does well, perhaps better than any Net, is fill every category on the stat sheet.
Brook Lopez
B-
The stats: 17 PTS, 7-18 FG, 1-5 3PT, 3 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 2 TOV
It was a slow first half for Brook Lopez, with 4 points and 2 rebounds. Lopez bounced back nicely in the second half to finish with 17 points but had an overall tough time dealing with his counterpart Marc Gasol. Expect a better performance from Lopez on Wednesday in what could be his final game as a member of the Nets.