The Brooklyn Nets lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 104-91 Tuesday night at Barclays Center, putting the Nets four games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th seed and final spot in the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament.
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson scored a game-high 28 points on 11-16 shooting as six Pelican players scored in double figures to give the team their third straight win and pushed their record to 9-4 since the All-Star Break.
Cam Thomas led the Nets with 25 points on inefficient 8-19 shooting as the team shot 36.9% from the floor and 30% from the three-point line for the game.
High-flying Williamson played just 3:58 minutes in the first quarter for the Pelicans after picking up two quick fouls and finishing the first frame with zero points. The Nets trailed 27-21 after one quarter, led by forward Mikal Bridges, who scored seven points in the first. But it was the quiet before the storm, as the Pelicans blew the game open in the second quarter.
The Pelicans tallied 37 points, paced by Williams and forward Trey Williams III, who added eight points each as the Pelicans scored 22 points in the paint and opened up a 24-point advantage, which was their largest lead of the game. The Pelicans were comfortably in charge at 65-47 at the intermission.
The Nets don’t do anything particularly well. They are ranked 22nd in offensive efficiency and 18th in defensive efficiency, which is a recipe for ugly basketball and blowout losses.
The Nets are worse-than-average in defending the ball and terrible in scoring. They sport a 5-9 record since the All-Star Break, and in five of those losses, the Nets failed to put 100 points on the scoreboard.
Since there isn't enough offensive firepower on the Nets, the game appeared already out of hand when the third quarter began. Guard Cam Thomas led the Nets with 15 points in the first half, but the Nets shot 36.6% from the field and 31.8% from the 3-point line while giving up 32 points in the paint.
The Nets actually outscored the visitors 46-40 in the second half, but it was too little, too late. The effort was not enough to make up the first half deficit, as Mikal Bridges heard boos from the crowd while shooting his free throws. Williamson thrilled the crowd when he got out on the fast-break and caught a running alley-oop from small forward Naji Marshall and finished with an emphatic dunk.
Williamson helped the Pelicans score 52 points in the paint as he shot 11-16 on a series of driving layups, finger-rolls, dunks and put-back layups, while also going 6-6 from the free throw line. Forward Larry Nance was also effective inside for the Pelicans, scoring 13 points on 6-8 shooting and collecting 10 rebounds.
The Nets are steadily falling out of the race for the final Play-In spot. They have had an easy schedule after the All-Star break, but haven't been able to win against cities with worse records than them, including Charlotte, Memphis, Toronto and Detroit.
If the Nets can’t beat the teams playing even worse, perhaps they've lost the fighting spirit and are already thinking about a vacation in Cancun.
Next up for the Nets are the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, which starts a four-game road trip.
