3 Nets takeaways from 116-110 loss at Bulls

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The Brooklyn Nets (22-44) were coming off a winnable game against the Cleveland Cavaliers without Donovan Mitchell, meaning that they were hungry for a win on this short road trip. With Thursday's game at the Chicago Bulls (28-38) carrying more importance than a regular-season game due to the play-in tournament implications, but Brooklyn wasn't able to get the result they wanted.

The Nets lost at the Bulls 116-110 and that came after Brooklyn looked to take control of the game in the third quarter after holding a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Cam Thomas had one of his games in a Nets uniform as he put up 24 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists while Tyrese Martin had one of his better games of the season with 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists coming off the bench.

Part of the reason that the Nets were unable to hold on to its lead in the fourth quarter was due to the fact that they didn't have an answer for Bulls guard Coby White, who dropped 31 points and four assists during his time on the floor. Here are three Nets takeaways from Thursday's loss at the Bulls:

Cam Thomas​

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Cam Thomas has been the team's best scorer over the past two seasons and while he hasn't played much this season due to injuries, his impact on the offensive end has been evident despite the limited sample size. Thomas was coming off a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in which he put up 27 points and three assists against one of the best defenses in the NBA so it made sense that he was able to build on that performance against the Bulls.

Not only did Thomas notch his first double-double in his fourth season in the league, he did it most of his damage in a first half that saw him drop 15 points, four rebounds, and eight assists. To that point, that means that the second half saw Thomas produce just nine points, two rebounds, and two assists, something that showed that Chicago either figured out how to limit his impact or he started to falter down the stretch as he's still working his way back after missing so much time with his left hamstring strain.

Here's what Fernandez had to say about Thomas performance and how his play changed from the first half to the second half:

"An impressive first half and then, running a little bit out of gas in the second half. Probably a matter of being being out for two months and trying to get him into playing shape. He's going to get there. But, gotta keep doing what he's done in the first half in the last two games. He's been impressive."

Cam Johnson​

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Cam Johnson has been one of the steady veteran presences on the team while also being one of the best players on the team since this season began with the way that he's shot the ball. While he took a backseat in the offense to players like Cam Thomas and Tyrese Martin, Johnson still contributed on both ends of the floor in a game that required Brooklyn to keep up with Chicago's scoring if they wanted to win the game.

However, the Nets' collapse in the fourth quarter left something to be desired from players like Johnson who have been there and done there, especially during his time with the Phoenix Suns. More to the point, Thursday's loss in Chicago seemed like just another game in which Brooklyn was good enough to win the game through three quarters, but the final 12 minutes is what did them in against a beatable foe.

Johnson spoke about what the last month of the season means for a Nets team that is now six games behind the Bulls for the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament race:

"There’s still a month worth of opportunities to prove yourself, to prove a lot. Any opportunity in this league is valuable so we can’t let them go to waste. That’s for ourselves as a group, as individuals, for our coaching staff. There’s still a lot of things left to gain and also, at the same time, lose. It’s on us to continue to just keep taking shots at it and not hang our heads. It’s kind of easy to [get down] when you lose double-digit leads multiple times in the fourth quarter, just poor execution, poor shot-making, poor defense time after time. It wears on you. We’ve got to figure out how to combat that and shake those types of performances off and learn from them and learn how to get better."

Jordi Fernandez Unhappy With Shot Diet​

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Throughout the course of this season, Jordi Fernandez has alternated between praising his group and criticizing his group, along with himself, when they experienced a disappointing loss. One obvious aspect of Fernandez's personality is his constant reminder to the media that he and the team are focused on getting better, whether they win or lose.

Following Thursday's loss at the Bulls, Fernandez was disappointed in the result, but it seemed like he was more concerned with the process than he was with what happened in the end. Fernandez has not been shy with promoting Brooklyn's style of play, which is to shoot more threes than they would most mid-range shots, but the second half reminded him that his team still has a ways to go.

Here's what Fernandez had to say about the Nets' shot selection in the second half:

"Offensively, we fell in love with the mid-range shot. We took 25 of them when, in that first half, we had 21 assists. We were good at the rim. We were good from three. Just thinking about those 25 mid-range shots, I'm okay with like 12 to 14, but all those should have been sprays for threes, and we were not willing to do it or shoot it. We kept dribbling and dribbling in the paint. Obviously, their zone bothered us. I think that the shots were there, and we got to be better, and I got to help them more. We were not good with that zone. It's my fault. We gotta work and be better."

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: 3 Nets takeaways from 116-110 loss at Bulls

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