The Nets dropped a second straight game with a 110-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Here are some key takeaways…
- Steve Nash went with the same starting five for the fourth straight game: Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Royce O’Neale and Nic Claxton.
- The tape of the first quarter of this game will not be sent to the Basketball Hall of Fame any time soon, as both teams struggled mightily from the floor in the opening minutes. The Nets hit just one of their first seven shots while committing three early turnovers, and when Simmons made a contested layup from the paint for the team’s second bucket, he immediately picked up a technical foul for yelling towards an official.
But Milwaukee was just as cold out of the gates, as the Bucks hit just three of their first 19 shots as a team, missing their first eight three pointers. But the Bucks went on an 8-0 run late in the quarter, and they took a 25-20 lead into second.
- The Nets’ starting group looked disjointed in the first, but Durant led the charge with nine points while Edmond Sumner provided a spark off the bench with seven first-quarter points.
Brooklyn stormed back in the second quarter, with Irving helping to lead the effort as the Nets took a 35-34 lead, their first since it was 11-10. O’Neale also got hot from beyond the arc, knocking down four first-half threes, as the Nets took a 55-43 lead into the break thanks to a 10-0 run leading up to the final whistle. Durant (13 points), O’Neale (12 points), and Irving (11 points) all scored in double digits. Meanwhile, the Nets defense held Milwaukee to just 35 percent shooting from the floor.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo was held to just nine points in the first half, but he was on a mission in the third, doubling his point total in the first five minutes and pulling Milwaukee back within five. Durant picked up another Nets tech midway through the quarter, and the Bucks tied the game at 64-64 as Giannis continued to give the Nets trouble.
Moments later, Nash picked up a double technical and was then ejected as he was fired up and in the officials' faces about the lack of an offensive foul call on Antetokounmpo. The Bucks made the most of the momentum swing, regaining the lead at 78-76 heading into the fourth.
- The lead stayed right around one possession for most of the fourth, but Antetokounmpo picked up his game once again, getting some tough buckets in the paint to push the lead to seven with six minutes to go. The Bucks pulled away down the stretch, as Antetokounmpo proved to be too much, finishing with 43 points and 14 rebounds.
For Brooklyn, Durant and Irving combined for 60 points, but they received almost no help. O'Neale didn't score a point in the second half, and no other Net finished in double figures. Simmons finished with four points (2-of-7 FG), nine assists and five rebounds.