LOS ANGELES — As implosions go, this one was nuclear.
The Nets turned a double-digit lead with just over five minutes left in a 125-114 defeat to the Clippers, a sad on-court capitulation before a sellout crowd of 19,370 at Crypto.com Arena that included team owner Joe Tsai.
If the e-commerce billionaire’s mood had been dampened over the past month or two, Sunday sure won’t help.
His Nets had never trailed, and led 114-103 with 5:18 to play.
That is, before they coughed up the final 22 straight points.
This one stung worse than could be expected.
“It’s always a choice going into the game: That’s the great part of life and freewill, is the ability to have a choice in how we approach this game, how we react to different things throughout the course of the game,” Jacque Vaughn had said.
“I’ll continue to say that’s a challenge for our group. And we’ve had a stretch where the ball wasn’t going in for us and we made choices to leave some possessions on the table. But our ability to have some resolve usually is a good thing for us and puts us in a position to compete.”
The Nets had beaten the Lakers here Friday.
But while the Lakers had lost 13 of 20 entering Sunday night, the Clippers were far more dangerous.
They had won nine of their last 11 as their Big 3 of Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have rounded into form together, and they had fresh legs, having not played since Tuesday.
James Harden finished with 24, and Leonard 21.
Mikal Bridges had a game-high 26, but just six in the second half.
Cam Thomas added 20 off the bench.
Teams playing on four days’ rest this season had been just 1-7, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Make it 2-7.
The Nets scored the first 16 points of the afternoon and led by as much as 18 but couldn’t hold it.
Even though the Nets had won the last meeting 100-93 at Barclays Center on Nov. 8, the Clippers were in the midst of a six-game skid and integrating their Big Three.
Both were completely different teams Sunday.
“Yeah, even us. There was no Nic, no [Cam Johnson]. I think that was their second game with James playing,” Vaughn said. “But different feel, different group. This group that’s playing probably besides Utah playing the best basketball league in the league. … So their ability to have a second unit that’s extremely productive, but also have Hall of Famers that can put points on the board on a nightly basis.”
Bridges’ 3-pointer made it 9-0 and sent the Clippers into a timeout just 2:55 in.
It didn’t help, as Bridges hit another left-corner 3 to push the lead to 16-0.
They harassed the Clippers into missing their first seven shots with a turnover, a shot clock violation.
Terance Mann finally broke the Nets’ run on a 3-pointer with 7:23 left in the first.
He sparked an 18-2 Clippers run, his 3-pointer pulling the game even.
But Brooklyn never gave up the lead.
And within moments, they had taken the momentum back.
The Nets clung to a 27-24 lead after the first quarter.
The Clippers Big Three had just two points on 0-for-10 shooting.
Brooklyn padded the cushion back up to 61-49 by the break. It was their fourth-biggest halftime lead of the season — and the second straight game they’d managed to hit at least ten 3s by intermission.
The Nets built several 18-point leads: on a Thomas and-one, then on his step-back, and finally on a Claxton tip dunk that made it 99-81 with 25 seconds left in the third.
It was still 104-86 when they coughed up a 31-10 blitz, giving it all away in the fourth.
Leonard went to the line to slice the lead to 114-110 with 4:14 left. After a Johnson airball, Nick Powell’s left-corner 3 pulled the Clippers within one.
The Nets had coughed up 8-2 runs over the final minute-and-a-half of overtime against Miami and regulation against Portland to lose both.
This was worse.
A Thomas travel handed Leonard a midrange jumper, and the Clippers their first lead at 115-114. Leonard’s free throws put the Nets in a three-point hole with 2:27 left in regulation.
They never got out.