Nets suffer letdown loss to Grizzlies

Postseason push slowed by Memphis at Barclays Center

March 5, 2024 John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Luke Kennard helped drive the Grizzlies past Dorian Finney-Smith and the Nets Monday night at Downtown's Barclays Center. AP Photo by Frank Franklin II

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Coming off back-to-back wins over Atlanta that appeared to ignite a late-season playoff push, the Brooklyn Nets’ renewed postseason hopes took a dousing Monday night at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

The shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies rode a season-high 25 points from Luke Kennard and a huge rebounding advantage to a 106-102 victory over the Nets in front of 15,847 disappointed fans on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.

“The play starts with the shot, that’s when their plays started,” said Nets interim coach Kevin Ollie after watching his team get beaten on the boards, 50-33, by a Memphis team that had lost five in a row.

“So when they shot it, they went to go get it,” he added.

The Nets (24-37) tried to do the same in the waning moments after pulling within three points with 6.7 ticks on the clock.

Mikal Bridges, who buried a pair of free throws after being fouled beyond the arc, tried to miss his third to give Brooklyn a chance at an offensive rebound and a potential tying 3-pointer.

But Bridges stepped into the lane early, resulting in a violation and ending any hope of the Nets completing their first three-game winning streak since Dec. 2-8.

Brooklyn pulled within two games of the 10th-place Hawks for the final spot in the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament with consecutive wins here last Thursday and Saturday.

Bridges, who put up 38 points in the finale vs. Atlanta, went a dismal 4-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-9 from the charity stripe against the Grizzlies (21-41), who had also dropped five straight on the road.

“I was out there 39 minutes. Just a bad one from me,” lamented Bridges. “Take a lot of the blame for tonight.”

Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges (behind, right) endured a frustrating night vs. Memphis Monday after back-to-back wins over Atlanta in Brooklyn. AP Photo by Frank Franklin II

Jake LaRavia had 14 points and 10 boards for Memphis, which piled up 25 second-chance points and grabbed 15 rebounds off the offensive glass.

“We got a lot of crucial offensive rebounds that helped us get extra possessions, so just something that we’ve been focusing on more lately,” LaRavia said.

Memphis was without an essential part of its rotation, including Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart.

It hardly mattered as Kennard, averaging 10.5 points per contest this season, went a blistering 8-of-11 from the floor, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. He also handed out seven assists in 27 ultra-productive minutes.

“It definitely feels good to get a game like that and on top of it to get a win,” Kennard told the Associated Press. “We’ve struggled the last five, six games here.

“We have some young guys out there. Just continuing to try to be a leader for them and just trying to make the right plays and it definitely felt good to knock a few shots down as well.”

Brooklyn played sans Ben Simmons (back) and Cam Thomas (ankle) for the fourth straight game.

Nic Claxton scored 21 points, Cam Johnson had 18, Bridges finished with 14 and Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV chipped in 13 apiece for the Nets, who will have to shake this loss off quickly as they host Philadelphia (35-25) at Barclays on Tuesday.

“We’ve got to take care of what’s inside this locker room, and keep playing the right way, keep playing with our winning habits that we’re starting to establish and build a foundation,” Ollie noted.

“So, we’re not looking past anybody.”

The 76ers will ride back-to-back wins into Brooklyn, including Sunday’s 120-116 triumph in Dallas.

Tobias Harris led the way with 28 points for Philadelphia, which improved to 6-8 since losing reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid to surgery on his left knee last month.

“Everybody’s kind of figuring out our chemistry overall as a group (without Embiid),” said Harris. “We knew it was going to take some time … figuring out ways to be successful out there. We’ve just got to stay at it.”

So do the Nets, who dropped 2 1/2 lengths behind idle Atlanta in the play-in hunt.

Brooklyn had lost nine in a row to the Sixers, including a four-game sweep in the opening round of last year’s playoffs, before a 136-121 win in Philadelphia on Feb. 3 behind Thomas’ 40 points.

The Nets’ shooting guard may be available against Philadelphia, but Brooklyn could be without backup center Day’Ron Sharpe, who suffered an apparent wrist injury Monday.

“Hopefully he’ll be ready to play tomorrow,” Ollie said of Sharpe.

Ben Simmons (far right) missed his fourth straight game Monday with a nerve impingement in his lower back, an injury that kept him out for almost two months earlier this year. AP Photo by Frank Franklin II

NOTHING BUT NET: Simmons, who missed 38 games earlier this season with a nerve impingement in his lower back, is apparently nursing the same injury. The Nets don’t believe the issue is as severe as the one that shelved him earlier this season. … Walker, who only played 14 minutes off the bench, went 5-of-10 from the field and buried three of Brooklyn’s 15 3-pointers. … After hosting the Sixers to close out this four-game homestand, the Nets will hit the road for a five-game trip, beginning Thursday night in Detroit. They will also play a neutral site game in Austin, Texas vs. the San Antonio Spurs on March 17 before heading back to Brooklyn March 19 to host New Orleans.