The Nets' second game against the Atlanta Hawks in the past three days yielded a far different result, with a recurring defensive issue getting exposed after an uncharacteristic shooting night.
After edging the Hawks (4-1) in a 145-141 victory Wednesday, Brooklyn (3-3) never led on the way to a 114-96 loss Friday at Barclays Center.
"They made some adjustments, for sure, on the pick-and-roll," said Kevin Durant, who dropped a game-high 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting but went 2 for 7 from three-point range. "It was a little bit more aggressive and low to the ball, especially when Kyrie (Irving) and myself had it up top, which is a good adjustment. I mean, I picture a lot of teams will start to do that, but we also missed shots. And we had some good looks, but it was one of those nights."