Nets fall to Warriors, 107-99

Traffic on one of the major freeways leading to Oracle Arena was at a near standstill thanks to an overturned tractor trailer, causing frustrated motorists to overload the city's streets in hopes of navigating around the thicket of vehicles.

If any of the Warriors got caught up in it, that's the only congestion they encountered when driving Thursday night. The Nets certainly didn't put up any resistance, allowing Golden State to toast them offensively.

Even with sharpshooter Stephen Curry (17 points, five assists) relatively quiet in the first half and keeping his usual bullets in his holster, the Nets were outmatched against one of the league's top teams.

Their 107-99 loss to the Warriors, which dropped them to 0-2 on this three-game road trip that ends in Portland Saturday night, demonstrated that they remain a work in progress.

The final numbers were numbing: 50 points surrendered in the paint, 30 fast-break points and 19 second-chance points.

Nets coach Lionel Hollins said of giving up 14 offensive rebounds, "It's very concerning because we have position a lot of times and we don't get the ball. So it's very concerning. But also concerning was 19 second-chance points and we only had six and then they had 30 fast-break points. We held them to one fast-break point in the third quarter and then they get eight in the fourth quarter and that was actually the game. We were right there and they had a couple of fast-break layups and that did us in.''

Klay Thompson had 25 points for the Warriors (6-2). Jarrett Jack had 23 and Deron Williams and Brook Lopez added 18 each for the Nets (4-4).

Although they trimmed their deficit to 93-88 with 6:11 remaining on Bojan Bogdanovic's three-pointer, which capped a 9-0 run, it never felt as if the Nets had a shot to pull this one out.

Said Williams, "We played good in spurts. There's times out there when we look like a really, really good team and there's times when we look like a not-so-good team. We've got to figure out how to be a really, really good team all the time. Part of that is getting rebounds, part of that is on defense, part of that is on offense. At times when we sub, there's a drop-off. I think that group that played most of the fourth did a good job of getting us back, and when we got in, it didn't carry over.

"We are still figuring things out and I don't think there's any reason to panic.''

The Nets just couldn't string together enough stops defensively and didn't have enough high-octane fuel in the gas tank to keep up with the Warriors' offensive pace.

Jack's jumper brought the Nets within 103-96 with 1:31 left, but Thompson's driving layup with 1:15 remaining gave Golden State a nine-point lead.

"They got whatever they wanted in the paint and fast break,'' Lopez said. "When they got into the paint and they didn't get the layup, they kicked out for three. It was rough, you know. We made a run and got back in it, but we just didn't get all the way back in the end.''

Andre Iguodala's second- quarter drive provided the perfect snapshot on this disappointing night for the Nets. He sped coast-to-coast, contorted his body, threw down a righthanded dunk and airplane-glided back upcourt with the energetic crowd of 19,596 in full throat.

Iguodala's stuff punctuated a 14-4 run, turning a tie game into a 10-point edge and helping Golden State grab a 66-55 halftime lead.

It was an indictment of the Nets' soft interior defense, which certainly hasn't improved any from a season ago despite Lopez's presence. For the Nets to establish some consistency, they'll need more production on both sides of the court from their 7-footer.

"I expect a lot of myself," Lopez said before exhaling heavily, something he did several times during the course of his two-minute postgame interview. "I think the team is playing well despite me right now."