Nets at Lakers
The Brooklyn Nets were obliterated in the first of consecutive games at Staples Center and hope to be more competitive Tuesday when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers. Brooklyn found itself down 35-7 less than 10 minutes into the contest against the red-hot Los Angeles Clippers and never recovered while suffering a 127-95 defeat Monday.
The Nets committed a season-worst 21 turnovers and trailed by as many as 40 points in the woeful effort against the Clippers. "We'll move on from it," forward Trevor Booker said afterward. "They've got everything clicking right now. At the end of the day we can always compete." Los Angeles is off to a surprising start under first-year coach Luke Walton and the young players are enjoying Walton's fast-paced system. However, there was nothing fun about the team's last performance as the Lakers were routed 125-99 by the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE NETS (4-6): Leading scorer Brook Lopez (19.4 average) was rested on the front end of the back-to-back and will be back in the lineup against the Lakers. Not having Lopez was a nonfactor in terms of Monday's dismal defeat and first-year coach Kenny Atkinson chalked it up to being one of those nights that happen during a long season. "Sometimes in the NBA you've got to move on right away," Atkinson said afterward. "Their cohesiveness is impressive — up to us to compete."
ABOUT THE LAKERS (6-5): Veteran small forward Luol Deng has been a major disappointment after landing a four-year, $72 million contract and is averaging just 6.3 points and shooting 31.2 percent from the field. Deng scored a season-best 13 points against Minnesota after five straight single-digit outings and Walton insists he's not concerned with Deng's early-season troubles. "Everyone is going to get different amounts of shots from different areas each night," Walton told reporters. "It is harder in that sense to know when your shots are coming, but he’s a professional in the gym and working every day before practice and staying afterwards getting treatment. I’m not concerned with him starting to knock down his shot again."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers notched six-point victories in both of last season's meetings.
2. Los Angeles PG D'Angelo Russell, who has four 20-point outings, tallied a season-low seven points in the loss to Minnesota.
3. Brooklyn G Jeremy Lin (hamstring) is expected to miss his sixth consecutive game.