When the Nets are good, they’re one of the best in the league. When they’re bad, it gets ugly, as was proved when the Atlanta Hawks blasted the Nets in Brooklyn, 114-96, on Friday night.
The Nets were horrendous for three quarters. They shot 5-of-29 from three, were askew defensively and didn’t match the intensity brought by the young, fun, run-and-gun Hawks.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving saved the Nets against the Hawks on Wednesday. There were no heroics in store the second time around in the Nets’ worst loss of the early season. They are now 3-3, looking more like a pretender than a championship contender.