AUSTIN, Texas — The Nets blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and wasted another edge in overtime against one of the worst teams in basketball.
So what does that make them?
The Nets collapsed in a 122-115 overtime defeat before a crowd of 16,057, including team owner Joe Tsai, at Moody Center on Sunday.
While the e-commerce billionaire had been on hand when they allowed the final 22 points in a Jan. 21 loss in Los Angeles against the Clippers, this wasn’t quite as dramatic. But it was still plenty damning. And damaging, with the Nets now 4 ¹/₂ games behind the Hawks for the Eastern Conference’s final play-in spot with 14 games left.
“They’re disappointed,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said. “But those guys are not making excuses … they’re disappointed. They want to win. They gave it all they had out there.”
For a change lately, that’s true. The Nets (26-42) responded following a players-only team meeting in the wake of Saturday’s loss in Indiana. But it wasn’t enough.
After being up 103-93 with 5:44 to go in regulation, they let the Spurs close on a 17-7 run. It was only Dennis Schroder’s 3-pointer that forced overtime, where Mikal Bridges’ 3 put Brooklyn on the board first. But it wouldn’t last.
“We’ve just got to close out the last couple, six minutes better,” Schroder said.
Victor Wembanyama (33 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, seven blocks) cut the lead to 115-114 with 2:27 left in overtime. Nobody scored again until the rookie’s alley-oop dunk put San Antonio ahead with 38.2 seconds on the clock in OT.
Schroder thought he had put the Nets back in front just 13 seconds later, but a Wembanyama goaltending call was overturned by review. Keldon Johnson’s layup gave the Spurs a 118-115 lead, and Cam Johnson’s missed 3-point attempt with 11 seconds remaining in OT made it official.
“I was surprised to say the least that it didn’t fall,” Johnson said. “It felt good.”
Schroder, who had been the most vocal during Saturday night’s players-only meeting, had 19 points and seven assists. Cam Thomas led the Nets with 31 points and five assists, though curiously wasn’t on the floor for Johnson’s pivotal 3-point miss.
It’s hard to say whether the Nets looked better because the Spurs — the Western Conference cellar-dwellers at 15-53 — are just terrible. Or because the meeting took hold.
“We all hate losing. And we had a talk [Saturday], just trying to get things right. And I think it was just a little bit more unselfishness across the board in terms of energy,” said Johnson, who had 12 points but missed four of his five 3-point attempts. “Still got a long way to go obviously, but yeah, that was a better effort [Sunday].”
The Nets (26-42) have lost five of six on this disastrous road trip that was not just their longest of the season — but the most damaging.
Leading by 103-93 with 5:44 to play, the Nets let the Spurs go on a 17-4 blitz.
It was only a Schroder 3-pointer and defensive stand by Nic Claxton (11 points, 14 rebounds) to force a Wembanyama miss that sent it to overtime.
“This is a game we definitely needed. So it’s disheartening taking this loss. But we can’t dwell on it,” Claxton said. “We definitely took too many losses [on this trip]. But like I said, we’ve just got to watch the film. Learn from it. We can’t go back and change those games.”
They can only hope the team meeting they had can change their collective mindset.
“Dennis [Schroder] was definitely the loudest voice, trying to get everybody on the same page,” Claxton said.
“Just be happy for another. Whoever gets on the court, give everything you have and everybody who is on the bench, not in at the moment, just being happy for another and enjoy being out there. Don’t take being in the NBA for granted,” Schroder said of his message to his teammates.
“All I see the last three or four weeks I’ve been here, all I can say is just don’t take it for granted. Every single day we’re blessed to do this. Enjoy the moment being happy for another. That’s the biggest thing and when we’re out there [give] 110 percent every single time.”
