OKLAHOMA CITY — The Nets were done in again by their Achilles’ heels: rebounding and defending the point guard. The Thunder and Russell Westbrook mercilessly abused them on both fronts on Friday night.
The Nets made a change at point guard, but it wasn’t reinstating Jeremy Lin, who is still recovering from a left hamstring strain. Instead, they started Randy Foye against Westbrook, his former Thunder teammate, and it went as well as expected. Foye finished with two points, three assists and four turnovers, while Westbrook had 30 points, 13 assists and 11 boards.
Brooklyn also was battered 46-30 on the boards, and was outscored 62-42 in the paint.
“We’ve got to do a better job protecting the rim. I thought they were getting to the rim, and we didn’t protect it like we should, and we need to do a better job,’’ coach Kenny Atkinson said after the Nets’ 124-105 loss to the Thunder.
“I’d say [we were] not focused, not locked-in the whole time you’re out there,’’ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said. “Definitely I’m holding myself accountable being out there, giving up backdoors or straight line drives. I’ve got to watch film on it and try to stay locked-in as long as I’m out there, and trying to keep my teammates the same.”
Lin’s injury was reevaluated Thursday, but the Nets still offered no timetable for his return.
“Just progressing as planned. He’s on target. I’m not going to give exact dates … but he’s progressing on schedule,’’ Atkinson said of Lin, who didn’t take part in Friday’s shootaround, but ran and shot afterward. “I’m going to listen to the performance team. We’re going to be smart about this, take a long term approach.”
Friday was the first head coaching meeting for longtime friends Atkinson and Billy Donovan, both of whom grew up on Long Island.
“Kenny and I have known each other for a long, long time. Long time,’’ Donovan said. “We grew up in basically the same area of New York. His brother Mike and I worked together at Kentucky, his older brother and I were together, developed a great close relationship. Mike’s a basketball junkie. Kenny obviously coming up playing, I played with Kenny in parks in New York.
“I was kind of phasing out playing, Kenny was kind of in the prime of his playing. It was great to see his career basketball-wise, playing-wise unfold like it did, and what he did as a player in college, getting a chance at the NBA level and now coaching. But he’s a guy that comes from a family that just loves the game of basketball.”
Donovan starred for St. Agnes in Rockville Centre, while Atkinson played at St Anthony’s in South Huntington, just 24 miles away.