At halftime of the Nets’ 129-120 …

At halftime of the Nets’ 129-120 overtime win in Boston on March 3, Atkinson lit into his players and challenged them, sources say. It stopped short of escalating into a long back and forth, but this much was evident: Atkinson was not backing down. He was not holding back. He later pulled every starter off the floor for the fourth quarter and let Caris LeVert and a group of reserves rally from a 21-point deficit. Then on Wednesday night, after a 39-point home loss to Memphis, no one held back.