Nets give away another one against Hornets

Commit 18 Turnovers in 10th Consecutive Defeat at Charlotte

February 8, 2017 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Nattily dressed former Hornet Jeremy Lin and his teammates look on as the Nets suffer their 10th straight defeat in Charlotte on Tuesday night. AP Photo by Chuck Burton

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Other than the annual Brook Lopez trade-deadline rumors, which are already heating up, and the announcement of a new sponsorship deal, the Brooklyn Nets just keep on writing the same old story.

And it’s an ugly one.

On Tuesday night in Charlotte, the Nets stunk it up in front of 15,322 fans at the Spectrum Center with a dismal first half, then rallied for a furious fourth-quarter push, only to be let down in an eventual 111-107 defeat to the previously slumping Hornets, extending their most recent losing streak to 10 games.

Brooklyn, winless since a victory in New Orleans on Jan. 20, managed just 37 points over the first 24 minutes, falling behind by as many as 17 to a team that had lost seven consecutive games.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points and Lopez, who is already fielding questions about where he might wind up in two weeks, added 20 for Brooklyn, which committed 18 turnovers and was outrebounded 51-45.

The Nets did manage 35 points in both the third and fourth periods, pulling within 109-107 on Bogdanovic’s 3-pointer with 10 seconds to play. But they were ultimately undone when Marco Belinelli drained a pair of free throws on Charlotte’s ensuing trip.

Belinelli, Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum scored 17 points apiece for the Hornets, who hadn’t won a game since Jan. 21.

“We dug ourselves a big hole in the first half,” Nets first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Again, it was kind of a similar story … turnovers hurt us.”

The Nets have averaged nearly 20 giveaways a game over the last four contests, and are currently ranked dead last in the NBA with 17 per night.

Lopez, a Nets since being selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, remains the team’s most valuable — and tradeable — asset.

Though he remains steadfast in his loyalty to the only franchise he has ever known as a professional, it is highly unlikely that he will be in the fold when the Nets matter again on the Eastern Conference landscape.

“It’s something I’m used to by now,” admitted Lopez, who insisted nothing was pending in regard to his being moved prior to the Feb. 23 trade deadline.

“It wouldn’t be comfortable without [the rumors], but I haven’t heard anything. If it were pressing or something was happening, I’d be aware.”

So would Nets general manager Sean Marks, who took on this massive rebuilding project after replacing Billy King, and is still trying to figure out a way to make the Nets a competitor again following last season’s 21-win debacle and this year’s ongoing struggle for relevancy.

“They’re going to make their decision,” added Lopez. “But I would hope that I would be informed, and I have the confidence they would inform me if they were thinking something or something was going down.”

At 9-43, the only thing going down is the Nets’ brand here in our fair borough, but the team did receive a boost business-wise Wednesday morning when Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment announced a new partnership with Infor, “a global leader in industry-specific cloud software.”

The two sides have formed a fully-integrated partnership that will see cutting edge data science applied to Brooklyn Nets team performance and fan marketing, according to the joint release.

The wide-ranging partnership covers four major areas: team performance, fan experience, team business operations and jersey patch sponsorship.

Beginning next season, the Nets will wear an Infor patch on the front left side of their jerseys.

The company also hopes to help Marks and the team’s Basketball Operations department generate stronger results on the court.

“This collaboration will provide efficient and strategic solutions in real time for Nets Basketball Operations,” said Marks. “The new digital platform that Infor is building will improve the way in which we work, communicate and make decisions across the organization both on and off the court.”

The Nets, who have lost 21 of their last 22 overall, were looking to end a 12-game home losing streak Wednesday night against John Wall and the visiting Washington Wizards.

Nothing But Net: Brooklyn product and Lincoln High School legend Isaiah Whitehead was a solid contributor off the bench Tuesday night, amassing 11 points, seven assists, one steal and only one turnover in 26 minutes … Brooklyn lost a season-high 11 in a row from Dec. 28-Jan. 17.