LeBron James (AP)
SLIPPING AWAY: Deron Williams, losing the ball against Ray Allen, and the Nets couldn’t find their footing in Miami, getting blown out by LeBron James (inset) and the Heat, 103-73. (
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MIAMI — After revamping their roster this offseason, the Nets expect to be a team that can contend with the likes of the Miami Heat.
They still have a long way to go.
The Nets hung around for a half before Miami outscored them 29-15 in the third quarter — capped off by a LeBron James step-back 3-pointer — and cruised to a 103-73 victory last night in front of a sellout crowd of 19,627 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“Nobody said we were on Miami’s level,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said. “Never said it. We aspire to get there. We’re not there, [and] we’re definitely not there with three games of the regular season.
“We’re not there yet, but we’re going to get there one day, and it’s going to take an enormous amount of work. We have to go through some struggles together, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how our team bounces back against Orlando.”
After the Nets defense was the culprit in Monday’s second-half collapse and loss to the Timberwolves, it was the offense that kept the Nets from making their matchup with the defending champions more competitive. Despite getting plenty of open looks at the basket — particularly from 3-point range — they never found a way to get going.
The Nets finished the game shooting 37.5 percent (30-for-80) from the floor, including going 3-for-21 from 3-point range, and were 10-for-17 from the foul line.
“Well, give them credit,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to always give your opponents credit. They did a good job defensively. But in reviewing here quickly after the postgame, even some of our 3’s that we shot, we were [wide] open and they just didn’t go down.
“We took probably three bad 3’s, but the other 18 or so were pretty good looks for our team, and we need to make those shots. … If they force you into taking those shots, if you don’t make them, you’re in trouble.”
Then, when you combine the poor-shooting performance from the Nets with 19 turnovers — which led to 31 Miami points — and a game that was competitive for a half quickly slipped out of reach.
“I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half,” said Kris Humprhies, who finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. “[But] the second half, with great teams, when you come out in the third quarter that’s make or break … and they broke us right there.”
As usual, James was brilliant. With the Nets missing starting small forward Gerald Wallace, who sat for the second straight game with a sprained left ankle, James wound up with 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in just under 30 minutes, and without stepping on the floor in the fourth quarter.
Neither did the Nets starters, who were pulled by Avery Johnson after James’ 3-pointer to end the third put the Heat up 79-56 and who, outside of Humphries, all struggled.
Deron Williams finished with 14 points, but went 0-for-4 from 3-point range and had seven turnovers, while Brook Lopez never got going, attempting three shots in the first half and finishing with eight points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Joe Johnson finished 4-for-14 from the field, and had nine points.
“I’m just trying to figure things out,” Joe Johnson said. “Obviously I had a lot of wide-open looks that I normally make that didn’t fall tonight, but I’m sure I’ll bounce back big against Orlando [tomorrow].”
But in their first crack at the defending champs, the Nets saw they still have plenty of work to do.
“We know that they’ve been together for years,” Williams said. “It didn’t happen for them overnight, either, so it’s not going happen for us overnight.”