MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant came into Monday as the NBA’s top scorer. And the Nets played like one of the league’s worst defenses.
The result was predictable and ugly, the Nets blowing a third-quarter lead and losing 134-124 to the Grizzlies before a crowd of 17,392 at FedEx Forum.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving each had 37 points, but the Nets squandered that with a defense that fell into disorganization and disarray.
Brooklyn allowed a 23-5 run to open the third quarter, and watched Morant and Desmond Bane each finish the night with game-highs of 38 points.
“We lost our focus a little bit, especially starting the third,” Steve Nash said. “We gave up 45 in the third: That was it. We had a five-point lead at the half, we give up 45 in the third.
“We had a lead, then 45 is too much. We tried to catch up and had a couple chances, but just too many pockets of the game where we didn’t play well enough.”
The Nets were outscored 45-28 in a third quarter that saw only two buckets from Nets not named Durant. They lost their seventh straight against the Grizzlies, who shot 16 of 34 from 3-point range. Bane was 8 of 11 from deep.
“Too much sloppiness. We had too many errors, lack of discipline at times, and then they got hot. It’s one thing to make errors when they miss 3’s. When they make them all, it’s gonna be really hard to stay in the game,” Nash said.
“That’s the name of the game now,” said Durant. “Even if you’re not playing well or up to par with your opponent if you’re making 3.s you give yourself a chance.”
But the Nets weren’t up to par, at least not for long enough.
Ben Simmons was invisible, fouling out with seven points and eight rebounds, but a game-worst minus-16.
The Nets trailed 27-21 with 3:47 to go in the first quarter, and Morant already had 15 points on 5 of 5 shooting. He repeatedly split coverages, threw a lob to Brandon Clarke for a highlight-reel dunk, and was an absolute menace.
The Nets trailed 39-34 after one, and it grew to 49-41 with 10:06 left in the half.
“It’s an effort thing of course; but now it’s the psychological aspect that we have to develop as a team. What’s going to make us tick, what’s going to be our pulse, especially on the defensive end?” Irving asked rhetorically. “When you give up 39 points in the first quarter and 45 points in the third, that’s just not a trait of a great team on the defensive end.”
The Nets did settle in, reeling off 10 unanswered points, a sequence of great ball movement ending with a Joe Harris 3 for a 51-49 lead with 7:49 in the half.
Irving pushed the lead to five with a Euro step and lefty finish, and the Nets took a 69-64 edge into the locker room. But it didn’t last.
Memphis charged out of the break and seized the momentum for good.
The Nets surrendered a 23-5 run to open the second half. They shot just 2 of 9 with a couple of Simmons turnovers, and let Memphis hit 8 of 12 on the other end.
The Nets fell behind 87-74 on a Morant free throw with 6:24 left in the third period. By the time Morant baited Simmons into his sixth and final foul with 3:52 left and the Nets were down 124-118, the game was over.
“Sometimes we’re indecisive on some stuff,” Durant said. “Some stuff we should be switching, one guy is on one page, one guy is on another. Sometimes our communication is off and in the league if a team sees you make a mistake they capitalize.”
