The Nets stayed winless without Michael Porter Jr., and this time they didn’t even show any fight in his absence.
With their star being rested, the Nets got embarrassed 124-102 by the Bulls before 19,753 at United Center.
It was a non-effort so galling that Jordi Fernández yanked four of his five starters to open the second half, sparing only Nic Claxton.
“Our energy was off from the jump and they exploited us defensively,” Claxton admitted. “When our energy isn’t right, no coverage will work.”
And none of them worked Sunday.
The Nets (12-28) fell behind by 27 and got routed.
“[We were] lacking on the defense, especially in the first half,” Fernández said. “[To allow] 70 points in the first half, that’s not good enough. I don’t think it was good either in the second, but I don’t think we played hard consistently. We tried at times [but] our purpose was not there. That’s the battle we need to fight first, is to do everything as hard as you can to the best of your abilities, then put your mind on what you’re trying to do.
“Everything has to be done with purpose. You cannot just run around crazy and that’s it. So, that’s very important. No matter who we have out there … I believe we can go out, compete and win. And [Sunday] we didn’t compete to the best of our ability. So, I’m the first one to blame. Watch film [Monday], try to compete better.”
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The lack of competitiveness is what was most vexing.
The loss itself was hardly shocking. The Nets are 0-8 without Porter, and have been outscored by 16.1 in those defeats. But Sunday’s result was vexing because of their fight, or lack thereof.
None scored more than rookie Nolan Traore’s career-high 16 points, 10 of those in a garbage-time fourth quarter where Brooklyn trailed by 24 going in. The offense without Porter sputtered. But the other end was far worse.
The Nets defense got carved up, allowing a season-worst 41 assists on 49 Bulls baskets. They conceded 52.1 percent shooting, including 69.6 percent in a first quarter that saw them dig themselves into a 19-point hole.
The Nets capitulated after giving up an 18-3 run. They trailed just 21-17 after Cam Thomas (career-high tying 10 assists) found Day’Ron Sharpe for a layup. But they let the Bulls hit eight of their next nine shots, a Tre Jones layup leaving the Nets down 39-20 with 25.6 seconds left in the first.
Fernández had seen enough, pulling starters Danny Wolf, Terance Mann, Egor Dëmin and Noah Clowney at halftime. He opened the third quarter with Traore, Thomas, Jalen Wilson and Tyrese Martin playing alongside Claxton.
“Yeah, it can be rough, but it’s a part of the game. You’ve got to be able to adjust. That’s what we’re dealing with this year. You’ve got to be ready for whatever lineups and our energy needs to be consistent,” Claxton said.
“I thought that group with Nic had good energy. They played the right way,” Fernández said. “And I didn’t feel that energy from the other group. Still, everybody played, just shuffling around and trying to find a way for our guys to react, but didn’t really happen.”
The deficit still reached 103-76 with 8:29 left on a 3 by Ayo Dosunmu (19 points).
Coby White led the Bulls with a game-high 24.
While Traore had 16 points on 4-for-5 shooting from deep, both career-highs, the Nets offense sputtered without Porter.
Thomas’ 10 assists tied a career-high, set last season against these same Bulls in March, but he had just three points on 1-for-6 shooting. Clowney shot 3-for-11 and finished minus-18.
“They just kept playing harder than us,” Martin said.
“We’ve got to just turn the page quick, have short-term memory. We know we’ve got to come out prepared to play,” Claxton said of Monday’s games against visiting Phoenix. “Our process just wasn’t right. We’ve just got to be better all around.”
The Nets are fifth in the lottery odds, a game ahead of Utah and one behind Sacramento pending the Kings’ tilt versus visiting Portland.
