The Nets had an opportunity to win back-to-back games in which Kyrie Irving was sidelined due to a right shoulder impingement, but they were done in by a rough second quarter where the Indiana Pacers outscored Brooklyn 41-17 on Monday
All-around, the Nets had a rough shooting night, which made it even tougher to make up for the wide gap created before halftime.
Although he felt shooting was an issue for Brooklyn, Kenny Atkinson saw a lot else wrong with the way his team performed in against the Pacers, as he expressed to reporters following the 115-86 loss:
We totally weren’t there tonight, for whatever reason. Defensively, offensively, rebound, physicality. I just think it was total domination by Indiana. In a game like this in the NBA, you gotta give them a lot of credit. ‘Cause, they had a lot of guys out too, right? … Fantastic job by Indiana. A lotta credit. Nets, we weren’t very good tonight.
Given the way the Nets have played throughout the first 13 games of the season, a performance like Monday’s isn’t overly surprising for Atkinson:
Below-average teams are inconsistent, and that’s what we are right now. … Until we get the group together and find some more consistency — what’s disappointing [is] I thought we had two good efforts, Denver [and] Utah, and then an excellent road win. Then to come here, in front of our fans, it just doesn’t feel good at all.