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Nets Skid into All-Star Break with Loss to Grizzlies

(BROOKLYN) — The Brooklyn Nets closed out the first half of the season on a sour note, dropping a 109-90 decision to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Brook Lopez led the Nets with 20 points and four rebounds as the team stumbled into the All-Star break with a 14-40 record.

Future unrestricted free agent Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 20 points and five assists.  It’s no secret that the Nets will most likely pursue Conley when he becomes a free agent this summer.  Conley has ties to former Nets head coach Lionel Hollins, who spent years coaching him in Memphis.  It’s unclear whether or not Conley will still consider the Nets with Hollins out of the picture.

After a competitive first half which saw Memphis take a 50-45 lead into the break, the Grizzlies exploded in the third quarter.  Jeff Green scored 12 of his 18 points in the period as the lead ballooned to as high as 26 points.  The Grizzlies were playing their first game without center Marc Gasol, who is sidelined indefinitely with a broken right foot.

Joe Johnson did not score a single point for the Nets, snapping a streak of 937 straight games in which he registered a made field goal. It was the longest active streak in the NBA and according to ESPN, the eighth-longest streak in NBA history.  Johnson shot 0-3 from the field in 22 minutes of action.

Notes: Bojan Bogdanovic will be the only player representing the Nets during this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities in Toronto.  He is set to play for Team World in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night.  Bogdanovic becomes just the fourth player to participate in the game as both a rookie and a sophomore.  He joins Mason Plumlee (2014 and 2015), Lopez (2009 and 2010) and Kenyon Martin (2001 and 2002).

Team owner Mikhail Prokhorov once again took in the game from his suite.  He has been in town all week conducting interviews with several candidates for their vacant general manager position.  Theoretically, the Nets would like to have a new GM in place before next Thursday’s trade deadline, so a decision could come fairly soon.

The Nets’ first game after the break will be against the New York Knicks on Friday, February 19. at Barclays Center.

 

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Jason Goldstein is a co host of the Baseline Jumper NBA podcast, recording every Tuesday night along Ben McDonald. Jason has also spent time as the Basketball Editor at DoubleGSports.com while also handling the Brooklyn Nets Lead Writer duties since October 2015.
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