Nets fall apart in second half, Brook Lopez injures foot

As if this season spiraling to nowhere hasn't already been tough enough, things may have gotten even worse for the Nets on Saturday night.

They fell to 0-7 with a 94-86 loss to the Bucks at Bradley Center, but even before that, Brook Lopez left the game late in the third quarter with a sore right foot, the same foot that has undergone three major procedures. X-rays were negative and Lopez, who wasn't available to speak afterward, might have an MRI on Sunday.

Lopez again was playing well, posting 20 points and four rebounds to lead the Nets before checking out with 40.6 seconds left in the third quarter. Inked to a three-year, $60-million contract in July after an injury-free campaign, he's the franchise's cornerstone and has been one of the few bright spots in a season bursting with nightmares.

"I would have loved to have Brook," Nets coach Lionel Hollins said after a fourth quarter that went bad. "But he wasn't there and we had to go with what we had."

Bucks coach Jason Kidd coached the Nets in 2013-14, the season Lopez played in only 17 games after breaking a bone in his right foot. "He's a great kid. I hope the foot is all right," said Kidd, whose team beat the Nets twice in six days. "I hope it's not serious."

With Lopez in the locker room getting examined, the Bucks (4-3) seized control in the fourth quarter, pulling away to a 17-point lead as Jerryd Bayless scored 11 of his 19 points. The Bucks shot 10-for-18 to the Nets' 9-for-28 in the quarter.

"You just want each and everyone on this team healthy at all times," Thaddeus Young said. "Obviously, we are struggling to get a win right now, but we need every healthy body that we can get. We are very fortunate that he didn't hurt himself worse than he did. Good thing is the X-rays were negative and we'll try to get him back on the court as soon as possible."

Young had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets. Greg Monroe paced the Bucks with 20.

In the third quarter, the Nets committed eight turnovers that directly led to 11 Milwaukee points. At least one of the giveaways was worth a chuckle for Milwaukee fans. Speeding down the lane and a step away from the bucket, Jarrett Jack tried to deliver a feed to Young, but the pass hit a tray of beers being carried by a server, spilling the beverages onto the court near the baseline and briefly stopping the game as Milwaukee mascot Bango helped with the cleanup.

The patrons chuckled at the mess, not bothered in the least that their drinks had been ruined -- even if a few frosty beverages would have made it easier to watch the Nets' latest putrid performance.

Milwaukee cashed in the Nets' 18 turnovers into 24 points.

"That's the thing Coach preaches before every game," Joe Johnson said. "That's what's hurt us in pretty much every game we've lost, which has been every one of them. It's the turnovers, us taking care of the basketball. Once again, we come out in the third quarter and I don't know what happened. It's just turnover after turnover and then they keep scoring and we are steadily putting pressure on ourselves to score and make plays, which kind of leads to another turnover."

Picking up their first win will take a while. The Nets have four days off before hitting the road to face Houston, Sacramento and the defending champion Warriors, meaning the Nets could find themselves at 0-10 before their next home game against the Hawks on Nov. 17.

Still, they haven't given up hope. Yet.

"We all continue to believe in what Coach is trying to instill in us," Young said, "and we continue to believe in the system and we continue to believe we can play with anybody in the league. We've just got to put it together for 48 minutes."