Defenseless Nets run out of magic in Orlando

Brutal 4th quarter costs Brooklyn shot at 3rd straight victory

October 25, 2017 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

D’Angelo Russell and the Nets let one slip away in Orlando Tuesday night, suffering a 125-121 loss to the Magic. AP Photo by John Raoux

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The Brooklyn Nets were just under six minutes away from completing an inspiring and unexpected three-game winning streak since Jeremy Lin went down for the season with a gruesome Opening Night knee injury.

Then, reality finally set in.

Brooklyn squandered a six-point lead down the stretch after leading by as many as 12 points earlier in the second half, suffering a gut-wrenching 125-121 loss to the Orlando Magic Tuesday night in front of 16,015 fans at the Amway Center.

“Disappointed. We had our opportunities,” Brooklyn’s second-year head coach Kenny Atkinson lamented after his squad surrendered a whopping 38 points over the final 12 minutes.

“Obviously, we had a lot of open looks. It’s a make-or-miss league.”

D’Angelo Russell missed more than he made en route to a team-high 29 points, going 9-for-24 from the floor while dishing out only a single assist in 30 minutes of court time.

Rondae Hollis Jefferson continued to show improved shooting touch, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting while DeMarre Carroll added 17 points for Brooklyn, which was unable to follow up on its consecutive victories over the Magic and Atlanta Hawks last week at Barclays Center.

Aaron Gordon poured in a career-high 41 points for the Magic, who improved to 3-1 on the season.

Though they are a respectable 2-2 after going an NBA-worst 20-62 last season, the Nets rank second-to-last in the league in opponents’ points allowed at 122.5 per contest.

“There is a lot of energy there and a lot of want from our guys to kind of improve themselves from last year,” noted Atkinson as Brooklyn prepared for Wednesday night’s home tilt against LeBron James and the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers.