NEW YORK – Rather than offering a reprieve, the Nets took a jackhammer to the Nuggets’ issues.
Wednesday’s humbling 135-130 loss to the Nets raised questions of effort, commitment and desire. Until this week, following back-to-back bad losses to Detroit and Brooklyn, those characteristics hadn’t trickled into the Nuggets’ tight-knit locker room.
“We have to be a 48-minute team,” said Mason Plumlee, the lone starter who was ready to play from the jump. “If we want to be good, we don’t have the personnel to coast and then turn it on.”
Plumlee raised his voice at halftime and let his teammates know that the Nets’ 72-point first half, which included 66 percent shooting from the 3-point line, wasn’t acceptable.