Nets blow late lead in wake of Nash’s departure

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

With only seven games in the young NBA season, the Brooklyn Nets and head coach Steve Nash mutually agreed to part ways a day after winning against the Indiana Pacers.

“Since becoming head coach, Steve was faced with a number of unprecedented challenges, and we are sincerely grateful for his leadership, patience and humility throughout his tenure,” said Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks in a statement.

Hours after the stunning move was announced, the Nets blew a late double-digit lead in a 108-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls with Kyrie Irving only scoring 4 points.

The Nets led by as much as 11 points in the third quarter before firing blanks in the last 12 minutes of the game and only scoring 19 points compared to Chicago’s 31-point production in the final frame.

Despite the 32-point explosion from superstar forward Kevin Durant, Brooklyn still failed to weather the storm and lost their composure in the last five minutes of the game.

Zach Lavine led the way for the Bulls after top-scoring his team with 29 points built from five drained three-pointers alongside five assists and four rebounds.

It was all Brooklyn in the first three quarters as Durant backstopped by newly-acquired forward Royce O’ Neale were converting shots from downtown at will.

Aside from the duo’s production, Patty Mills and Joe Harris finally saw their long bombs go in the basket and Brooklyn looked like the old well-oiled machine that dominated the Eastern Conference.

However, Lavine’s personal scoring run and DeMar DeRozan coming to life became Brooklyn’s kryptonite.

The Bulls also outrebounded the Nets, 45-38, and led by a wide margin in the offensive board department where they pulled 11 compared to Brooklyn’s four.

Brooklyn’s turnover issues also cost them the game as four of their 17 total came in the last seven minutes that rewarded the Bulls with two breakaway deuces.

Multiple sources have reported that the Brooklyn franchise is set to acquire Boston Celtics’ suspended head coach Ime Udoka to replace Nash.

Udoka has been suspended by the Boston management for one full season after violating the organization’s code of conduct due to an “improper intimate and consensual relationship” with a female employee.