NBA Power Rankings: Blake Griffin trade shakes things up

After finishing last week with back-to-back wins, the Nets dropped all three of their games this week. They went toe-to-toe with the Thunder on Tuesday, losing on a Russell Westbrook layup with 3.3 seconds remaining. Spencer Dinwiddie had given the Nets the lead with 7.8 seconds remaining, but he wasn’t able to hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give them a disheartening loss. “We can talk about the last plays, but I do think we gave up 35 points in the fourth quarter and made a ton of mistakes,” Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I loved our competitive spirit all game, how we defended, but I thought in the fourth quarter we made some fundamental mistakes.”

The Nets had the misfortune of welcoming Giannis Antetokounmpo back to the Bucks lineup, with Milwaukee rolling them 116-91 on Friday. Brooklyn had just 35 points in the first half, but rallied to within seven points in the third quarter before the Greek Freak took over. D’Angelo Russell continued to try to shake off the rust that he gathered while missing time with an injury, and had seven turnovers against the aggressive Bucks defense. The Nets fell apart on Saturday, losing 111-97 against the Timberwolves, in a game where even their head coach, Kenny Atkinson, seemed to let the fatigue of the regular season get to him. Atkinson charged the court, vehemently arguing a call by Tony Brothers, and was ejected in the fourth quarter. With six losses in their last eight games, it’s understandable why he might be a little upset.