NEW YORK _ All-Star Weekend was a festive occasion for the four Nets who took part in the events and for an organization celebrating a surprising resurgence this season. But the hangover was a killer for the Nets, who began the serious business of a playoff push with a miserable performance in a 113-99 loss to the rugged Trail Blazers on Thursday night at Barclays Center.
Trying to change things up for the cold-shooting Nets, coach Kenny Atkinson inserted Jared Dudley along with former Blazers Allen Crabbe, Ed Davis and Shabazz Napier in the fourth quarter. The Nets were down 14 points early in the period, but the ex-Blazers combined for 13 points in a 15-2 Nets run that cut their deficit to 90-89 when DeMarre Carroll hit a long jumper with 7:24 left.
That was as close as the Nets (30-30) got as they fell back to the .500 mark with their sixth loss in eight games. The Blazers (35-23) manhandled the Nets inside with centers Jusuf Nurkic (27 points, 12 rebounds) and Enes Kanter (18 points and nine rebounds). Portland outscored the Nets in the paint, 66-50. They also got 21 points from C.J. McCollum.
Crabbe topped six Nets in double figures with 17 points, and Davis added 15 points and 10 rebounds. But the Nets shot only 39.1 percent from the field overall and 19.4 percent from 3-point range (7 of 36).
Atkinson stuck with Caris LeVert in the starting lineup for the second straight game since his return from a three-month rehabilitation for a dislocated ankle. Treveon Graham, who missed the Cleveland game before the All-Star break for personal reasons, also was in the starting lineup. Although LeVert made just 13 of 36 shots in his first three games back, including 2 of 13 from 3-point range, it's important to get him up to speed for the stretch run as quickly as possible. But he scored just 12 points and shot 4-for-11.
"From a physical standpoint, he's looked pretty sharp," Atkinson said. "He looks athletic, not timid. I think it's just a matter of time before he catches his rhythm. He's struggled a little bit finishing at the rim and obviously shooting, but the effort is there. The player that we love is there. So we're going to keep trusting him."
As for the rest of the team, Atkinson was excited by what he saw in two good practices after the Nets returned from the break and what it portends for their playoff push. "It starts tonight against a good Blazers team," Atkinson said beforehand. "We had two really good days of practice."
Practice did not translate to the game as the Nets misplaced their deep shooting touch during the eight-day layoff. The first half turned into a defense-oriented slog that ended tied at 50 primarily because of a 2-for-15 shooting effort by the Nets from 3-point range. All-Star weekend 3-point champion Joe Harris missed his only two attempts, and All-Star reserve Russell was 1 of 4 from deep.
Davis and Crabbe helped fuel a 15-2 Nets run spanning the first and second quarters that ended with seven straight Crabbe points to give them their biggest lead at 34-25. But when those two sat down, the Blazers clawed their way back into the game although they couldn't regain the lead in the second quarter.
When the second half opened, the Blazers attacked the rim from the outset first with Nurkic and then with Kanter. The two centers combined for 17 third-quarter points as the Blazers led by as many as 15 points before settling for an 84-72 advantage after three quarters. Giving up 34 third-quarter points was a killer in a game where the Nets were struggling to score.
