The Nets were cruising toward their best win of the year. Then they got routed by arguably the best team in the league.
The Nets were on the wrong end of an eye-watering run that spanned the third and fourth quarters, and flipped what was a double-digit lead into a 129-121 loss to Oklahoma City in front of a sellout crowd of 17,926 at Barclays Center on Wednesday night.
Rolling along to a 94-81 cushion after Tosan Evbuomwan’s free throw with 3:32 left in the third quarter, the Nets gave up an extended 36-9 run that seemed like death by a thousand cuts.
Brooklyn’s offense, so white-hot efficient early on, went ice-cold. They hit just 2-for-21 with four turnovers in that span that cost them a statement win.
By the time it was over, the Nets trailed 117-103 with five minutes left to play.
“They played with physicality a little bit on the defensive side at the start of the second half. The first three possessions, we didn’t execute right. And then also just our lack of focus in the second half,” Day’Ron Sharpe said. “We gave them two or three runs where they went 9-0 run, or we were turning the ball over or weren’t hitting shots, and they got it back into the game.”
MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Thunder, who improved to 47-11.
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The Nets, who led by as much as 18, fell to 21-37.
Sharpe, in his first start of the season for the suspended Nic Claxton, had a career-high 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists, hitting his first eight shots before finishing 8-for-10 and 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
“I’m just a beast on them boards. I don’t really think nobody can mess with me in the paint when it comes to that,” Sharpe said. “Like tell y’all every time, no matter how big, no matter how tall, its just what I do. You know what I’m saying? You’re gonna have to send three people to box me out. But I just play hard.”
The Nets hit a season-high 23 3-pointers, but were no match for OKC.
Already without starters Cam Thomas, D’Angelo Russell and Noah Clowney, the Nets played without Claxton due to suspension for accumulating too many flagrant fouls.
Wednesday was just the fourth time in franchise history that every starter hit multiple 3-pointers.
Point guard Killian Hayes — a noted poor shooter just signed on a 10-day contract — had 19 points, seven assists and hit 5-for-10 from behind the arc.
But it wasn’t enough.
“In the fourth quarter we turned the ball over three times in a row, and that gave them rhythm. After that we were just trying to play catch up, and it’s tough to do,” Hayes said. “So, [against] a really good team it’s tough. They capitalized on our mistakes and made it tough on us.”
The Nets hit six of their first 10 shots and used a 20-6 first-quarter run to take a 14-point lead. Jalen Wilson’s floater made it 30-12 with 4:37 left in the first.
The Nets had that cushion cut to 49-47 midway through the second, before extending it to 76-61 at halftime — their highest-scoring half of the season.
They still led 94-81 at 3:32 left in the third, but couldn’t hold it thanks to that extended blitz.
Cason Wallace (13 points) knotted it, and a goaltending call put OKC ahead for their first lead of the night. Wallace had back-to-back steals from Hayes and Trendon Watford, taking them in for fast break buckets and a 109-103 Thunder lead with seven minutes to play.
Holgren’s putback made it 111-103 with 6:33 to play.
The Thunder made it 117-103 with 5:13 left on Jalen Williams’ layup.
The Nets never recovered.
