The Brooklyn Nets are a long way from when they began this season with a 12-9 record, seemingly beating the odds through great shooting and effort. All of that has come crashing down as the team is now 17-25, meaning they have won just five of their past 21 games, including their most recent loss with a fourth-quarter collapse of seismic proportions.
In Sunday’s 125-114 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers, the Nets looked like they were going to go back to New York with a successful west coast road trip after leading Los Angeles by 18 points in the fourth quarter. However, the Clippers dominated the Nets in the period 41-15, including Los Angeles ending the game on a 22-0 run.
Heading into the fourth quarter, it was easy to assume that the Nets would end up winning the game after establishing such a cushion along with the fact that Clippers forwards Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined for just 16 points on 6-of-25 shooting from the field through the first three quarters. However, this game turned on its head as Brooklyn could not get anything going on either end of the floor at the same time that Los Angeles finally broke through.
Nets center Nic Claxton, who had 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, was one of the players who helped Brooklyn dominate for most of the game. After the game, he gave his thoughts on how the loss affected him:
“Definitely frustrating. Especially in a game that we played so well towards the beginning, but you know it is what it is. Now, we got to watch the film, learn from it, and just do our best to not be in that position again.”
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