Brooklyn suffers Milwaukee meltdown

Nets squander late lead in loss to visiting Bucks

December 10, 2024 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Giannis Antetkounmpo and the Bucks staged a late comeback in Brooklyn Sunday afternoon, stealing a win from the struggling Nets. AP Photo by Heather Khalifa

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Jordi Fernández is getting sick and tired of reminding his team what it means to wear an NBA uniform.

Especially one with “Brooklyn” across the breastplate.

The rookie coach lambasted his slumping unit for its porous defense for the second time in less than a week following the Nets’ 118-113 loss to Giannis Antetkounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 17,926 at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

“Our defense was atrocious,” Fernández admitted after Brooklyn squandered a double-digit second-half lead and allowed the visiting Bucks to score 15 of the game’s final 20 points.

The Nets (10-14) were riding high following Wednesday’s 98-90 triumph over visiting Indiana. They had heeded their coach’s warning to get more defensive or else following a 128-102 loss in Chicago two nights earlier.

Brooklyn allowed its least opponent points to Indiana after Fernández questioned his team’s “fight” and “standards” against the Bulls.

With the Nets on their way to what appeared to be a second straight win against the Bucks (12-11), Fernández watched helplessly as the “D” pulled another disappearing act.

Leading 108-104 with just over three minutes to play following an 11-footer from fearless floorleader Dennis Schröder, Brooklyn bailed on the other end of the hardwood for the remainder of the contest.

Khris Middleton hit a jumper and Bobby Portis followed with a 3-pointer to give the Bucks the lead for good before Antetkounmpo’s slam dunk made it 111-108 with 1:09 left.

Middleton and Damian Lillard each drained a pair of free throws before Antetokounmpo hit one from the charity stripe to seal the Nets’ fourth loss in five games.

“If our guys [wearing] a Brooklyn Nets jersey don’t play harder defense, they don’t have a place in our roster. And they know it.” Fernández fumed.

Schröder finished with 34 points and 10 assists, Cam Johnson added 26 points and Nic Claxton had a season-high 21 points and 10 boards for Brooklyn, which became the first Milwaukee opponent to make more than half its shots (50.6%) in 16 games.

Only the Bucks were more than a clip better at 57.4%, including a 15-of-31 performance from beyond the arc.

“The reality is, in the last the minutes of the third (quarter) and last six minutes of the game, it was a -19 for us,” Fernández noted, pointing out the Nets’ 81-69 advantage following Claxton’s tip-in with 3:57 left in the third.

Dennis Schröder put up 34 points, but it wasn’t enough as Brooklyn suffered its fourth loss in five games Sunday vs. Milwaukee. AP Photo by Heather Khalifa

By the end of the period, the game was tied at 86-86, thanks mostly to a three-point play and two more baskets by Antetokounmpo, who piled up 34 points, 11 boards, four assists and three blocked shots.

“They were physical and we were just wrestling instead of playing,” said Fernández. “And that’s tough. It was self-inflicted.”

Claxton, who has been battling back issues all year after inking a four-year, $100 million pact last summer to be one of this franchise’s foundation pieces, had his best all-around game of the campaign.

“That’s just me playing more games. My body, everything is just starting to come together,” ceded Claxton, who has only made 10 starts in 18 appearances.

“I need to be aggressive for us, especially right now with Cam [Thomas] being out and us missing some scoring,” he added.

The Nets have suffered through an assortment of injuries during Fernández’s first 24 games at the helm.

With Thomas still on the mend from a left-hamstring strain and Ziaire Williams down with a bad knee, Brooklyn has yet to display its full arsenal during this stretch of futility.

However, Fernández has remained steadfast in his belief that this season isn’t about rebuilding but resilience in the face of whatever ails his team.

“When you take breaks, and you don’t play hard all the way through, then when you really need it, you don’t have it,” he noted.

The Nets will try to get it back Friday night in Memphis when they visit the Grizzlies at 8 p.m.

Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton both had big games, but the Bucks took advantage of Brooklyn’s defense down the stretch Sunday. AP Photo by Heather Khalifa

NOTHING BUT NET: Johnson, averaging a career-best 18.8 points per game this season, has put up 26 points in each of the Nets’ last three contests. … Brooklyn is 5-6 at home this year and has dropped three of its last four games at Barclays Center. … After visiting the Grizzlies (17-8), the Nets will host league-leading Cleveland (21-4) here on Monday. That match-up was added to Brooklyn’s schedule as a post-NBA Cup game.