- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 397,056
- Reaction score
- 43
You must be registered for see images
The Brooklyn Nets (23-47) are in the midst of one of their worst stretches of the season as they are just 3-13 following the All-Star Break after Thursday's 105-99 overtime loss at the Indiana Pacers (40-29). In what was a winnable game for Brooklyn as they faced an Indiana team missing Tyrese Haliburton, the Nets dropped the ball, but not without some controversy to end the contest.
"They had good composure. They pressured us, they created points off turnovers, it goes down to the things that we wanted to control," Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez said following the loss. Brooklyn built an 11-point lead in the first half thanks to the outstanding play of players like Ziaire Williams, but the Pacers won the second half and overtime to the tune of 63-47 thanks in large part to Bennedict Mathurin scoring 19 of his 28 points in that span.
"Getting back in transition, taking care of the ball, don't give them easy ones out of our turnovers. Then, it came down to the free throw disparity," Fernandez continued. "13 shots from the free-throw line of difference with a team that we shot similar paint shots, they picked us up full-court. I find it hard to believe, but, it's part of the game, you know? That's something that I cannot control which way the whistle is going to go."
As Fernandez alluded to, the Pacers shot 27-of-31 from the free-throw line while the Nets made 13 of 18 free-throws despite the numbers of personal fouls being called as 24 for Brooklyn and 21 for Indiana. The game was tough to navigate for most of the time as things got chippy early on, culminating with a fourth-quarter that saw Trendon Watford ejected after being given technical fouls for shoving Andrew Nembhard and Myles Turner.
"I think that's just the level of intensity that you gotta rise to," Nets guard D'Angelo Russell said afterwards. "It's not the playoffs, but it was a playoff environment. We're a young group trying to get there so as a group being able to handle our emotions throughout those moments, don't let them get the best of us at any point in the last five minutes of the game."
"I liked it," Nets forward Ziaire Williams said following the game regarding the physicality. "The refs were letting things go. It's two physical teams out there so I didn't mind it." While Fernandez sounded like he was confused by the officiating, it seems that the players either enjoyed the physical style of play or saw it as a moment of growth for a Nets team that is struggling to win games at the moment.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets reacts to grueling 105-99 overtime loss at Pacers
Continue reading...
