Home provides no refuge for slumping Nets

Pelicans roll through Brooklyn in brief Barclays stopover

March 20, 2024 John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

New Orleans power forward Zion Williamson was head and shoulders above any player on the court Tuesday night in Downtown Brooklyn. AP Photo by Bebeto Matthews

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Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans are vying for a higher playoff seed as they prepare to chase a championship.

The Brooklyn Nets appear to be playing out the string on this disappointing campaign as the posteason falls further from their collective grasp.

Williamson accentuated a 28-point, seven-rebound performance with a thunderous alley-oop dunk in the fourth quarter, pacing the Pelicans to a 104-91 triumph over the sagging Nets Tuesday night in front of 17,732 fans at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

“They (were) making shots. Zion getting out in transition. He caught a couple of lobs over the top,” lamented Nets interim coach Kevin Ollie after he and the rest of the sellout crowd on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush marveled at the spectacular jam.

“They just packed the paint. They have a lot of aggressive guys,” added Ollie.

Brooklyn dropped its fourth straight contest and dropped 4 1/2 lengths behind 10th-place Atlanta in the hunt for the final spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with 13 games remaining.

Following a 1-5 road odyssey that kept them out of our borough for almost two weeks, the Nets (26-43) were eager to feast on some home cooking before departing on a four-game trip beginning Thursday in Milwaukee.

Cam Thomas had his sixth straight 20-plus point game, but the Nets suffered their fourth straight loss to visiting New Orleans on Tuesday. AP Photo by Bebeto Matthews

But Williamson and the Pelicans (42-26) had other ideas.

The 6-foot-6 dynamo drained 11-of-16 shots, all six of his free throws and had jaws dropping after he stuffed Naji Marshall’s lob down to give New Orleans an 89-74 cushion with 10:21 to play.

“When (Marshall) got the steal, I said, ‘Oh he is throwing it,’” Williamson revealed. “He threw a good pass, went and got it.”

CJ McCollum finished with 16 points and Larry Nance Jr., added 13 off the bench for the Pelicans, who pulled within one-half game of the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and the chance to host a first-round playoff series.

New Orleans also secured its second straight winning season, something the franchise had not accomplished since 2009.

“That’s the program that we’re trying to build — it’s a sustainable winning culture and it feels like we’re trending in a good way right now,” Pelicans coach Willie Green told the Associated Press.

Cam Thomas continued his career-best scoring streak for Brooklyn, putting up at least 20 points for the sixth straight game.

He had 25 on 8-of-19 shooting, but the Nets committed 10 first-half turnovers and fell behind 64-45 at intermission.

Ollie was enthused that his team held New Orleans to 40 points following the break, but Thomas admittedly is growing tired of looking for silver linings as Brooklyn’s playoff hopes continue to fade.

“Holding this team to 104 points. Those are games we should win,” noted Ollie. “I’m gonna take the positive out of the second half. We just gotta be better.”

“It’s exhausting. We have to go out and do what we say up here,” countered Thomas.

Mikal Bridges scored 15 points, Dennis Schroder had 12 and Cam Johnson added 10 off the bench for Brooklyn, which was embarrassed along the interior, getting outscored 52-32 in the paint by the Pelicans.

Nets backup center Day’Ron Sharpe had no such problems. He grabbed a career-best 17 caroms, including nine off the offensive glass, after matching a season high with 15 points against San Antonio in Austin, Texas on Sunday.

“He’s going in there, he’s battling. … Even in the game against San Antonio. He’s doing all the things he has to do,” Ollie said.

The rest of the Nets had better do the same when they get to Milwaukee Thursday night.

Otherwise, Ollie will not be back as full-time coach next season and Brooklyn will be out of the postseason for the first time in six years.

Kevin Ollie has 13 regular-season games left to help the Nets get back in the play-in hunt and perhaps save his job for next year. AP Photo by Bebeto Matthews

NOTHING BUT NET: Brooklyn shot just under 37 percent from the floor against the more physical Pelicans. On Jan. 2 in New Orleans, the Nets shot a season-worst 35.7 percent en route to a season-low 85 points. … After visiting the Bucks, the Nets will return to New York Saturday afternoon to visit the arch rival Knicks at Madison Square Garden at 1 p.m. … The Nets are 5-10 since Ollie replaced former coach Jacque Vaughn during the All-Star break.