The New Orleans Pelicans were coming off their most lopsided defeat in the franchise’s regular-season history.
Head coach Jamahl Mosley wanted to see his team respond with toughness, grit and fight that it didn’t demonstrate in a 138-87 loss at Golden State on Monday night when it returned to the court against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night in the Smoothie King Center.
Mosley didn’t get anything close to what he was looking for.
The Pelicans’ 145-111 loss to the Nets was virtually indistinguishable from the historically bad performance two nights earlier.
The Nets (3-8), who entered the game tied for the second-fewest wins in the NBA, established season-highs for points in a game, points in a half (83 in the first) and points in a quarter (44 in the second) as well as the most points allowed by the Pelicans (4-8), who have given up an average of 140 points in the last three games, starting with a 139-123 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Mosley said the slide was due to “a combination of a lot of things,” noting that the absence of “a will and a want to defend at a high level every night” was at the top of the list.
“It’s my job to get them ready,” Mosley said, “and it’s also the ability to stay tied together when things don’t go our way.”
The points allowed are particularly concerning because the No. 1 reason that Mosley was hired during the off-season was his track record in guiding one of the better defensive teams in the NBA during five seasons as Orlando’s head coach.
“I’m not doing my job in this moment by getting guys to sit down and guard,” Mosley said.
The Pelicans have their second four-game losing streak of the young season, having squeezed a four-game win streak between the two. They play the second game of a five-game home-stand that Mosley called “huge” for the team’s fortunes even this early in the season when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.
Zion Williamson returned after a one-game absence for rest to lead the Pelicans with 29 points, a season-high for a New Orleans player; Saddiq Bey added 15; Jeremiah Fears and Jordan Poole had 14 each; and Bryce McGowens scored 11.
Williamson called the recent performances “unacceptable.”
“As a unit,” Williamson said, “players, coaches, everybody, we have to look in the mirror when you’re by yourself and ask, ‘Did I do everything I need to do for my team?’ It starts internally.”
Trey Murphy III (knee) and Trendon Watford (ankle) missed a second consecutive game, Bennedict Mathurin (thumb) also was sidelined and Yves Missi (knee) missed his 10th consecutive game.
The Nets (3-8) raced to a 14-point lead after one quarter and increased the advantage to 17 at the end of by far their most productive offensive half of the season.
The scoring slowed in the second half, but the margin continued to grow and Brooklyn held a 107-81 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Nets finished with eight double-figure scorers. Michael Porter Jr. and Egor Demin scored 22 each; Julius Randle had 17; Moritz Wagner and Noah Clowney had 16 each; Day’Ron Sharpe added 15; Keon Ellis scored 11; and Danny Wolf recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Pelicans scored the first four points of the game, but they were dominated for the rest of the first quarter. The Nets shot 61.5 percent from the floor, outscored New Orleans 24-10 in the paint and finished with their highest-scoring first quarter of the season in taking a 39-25 lead.
Brooklyn’s offensive onslaught continued throughout the second quarter. Itheld an 83-66 lead after its highest-scoring half of the season. The Nets’ previous largest halftime lead this season was five points.
They wound up shooting 57 percent from the floor and 48.8 percent (20-of-41) on 3-pointers.
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