Don’t blame Brook Lopez for the Nets’ woes.
So said former Nets and current Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd before the Bucks defeated the Nets, 109-100, Sunday night at Barclays Center. It was Brooklyn’s fifth loss in a row.
“There’s been a lot of change for him, so it’s not fair to put it on him,” Kidd said when asked about the Nets losing while Lopez is having a standout season. “Coaches, teammates, practice facilities, arenas. There’s been change.”
Lopez is the only player left over from the 2013-14 Nets teams that Kidd coached to the first round of the playoffs. Lopez, who entered the game averaging a career-high 20.8 points and 8.1 rebounds, led the Nets against the Bucks with 20 points.
“He’s playing at a very high level,” Kidd said. ‘With Brook, we all know he can score the ball. But he’s finding his teammate and he’s also rebounding the ball and blocking shots. He’s the total package.”
The biggest star of the game, however, was the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks’ 6-11 point forward, who was given a shot to run the offense last month because of injuries at guard, recorded is fourth triple-double in 11 games.
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Antetokounmpo, who nearly had a triple-double in the first half, finished with 28 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds and two blocks. The “Greek Freak” came up with big play after big play in the final quarter as the Nets imploded and committed 12 turnovers and were outscored, 31-21.
“Turnovers. We played well enough for three quarters and then we had crucial turnovers that you can’t recover from,” Nets interim coach Tony Brown said.
The game was the Nets’ first at Barclays Center after a nine-game, three-week road trip.
- Newsday