WHAT IT MEANS: Brooklyn Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said that he was “scared” of Friday night’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
Clearly Carlesimo knew something everyone else didn’t.
The Nets were booed by the Barclays Center crowd during the fourth quarter of a 98-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.
Joe Johnson (11 points on 5-for-12 shooting in 29 minutes) was rusty in his return after missing three games due to a sore left heel. As a team, the Nets registered 19 turnovers -- seven of them by Deron Williams (24 points and two assists), who came in averaging 3.6 of them per game since the All-Star break.
Brooklyn (34-25) dropped to 19-3 against sub-.500 teams, and has lost three of its last four games. Dallas (26-32) got 20 points each from Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter, shot 50 percent and snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Nets trailed by as many as 20 in the final period. They got within four late, but their execution down the stretch left much to be desired.
THIRD IS THE BAD WORD: No surprise here. The Nets were outscored 29-14 in the third quarter and trailed 77-63 heading into the fourth. They shot just 31.3 percent in the period (5-for-16).
SHOELESS BROOK: Brook Lopez played without his right shoe for about a minute stretch of the first quarter. Later in the period, he flew into the stands trying to save a loose ball. Lopez finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in 33 minutes.
AT THE HALF: The Nets outshot the Mavericks 53.8 percent to 50 percent and led 49-48 at the break. D-Will had 17 points and five turnovers. Johnson added six points on 3-for-7 from the field. Andray Blatche had eight second-quarter points.
FIRST THING’S FIRST: The Nets trailed 22-21 at the end of the first quarter. D-Will had 10 points, two assists, two rebounds and three turnovers. As a team, the Nets turned it over six times. Johnson went 0-for-3. Brooklyn led Dallas 23-11 in rebounding.
WHO’S IN THE HOUSE? Victor Cruz, Jay-Z, Larry King
UP NEXT: Nets at Bulls on Saturday night at 8 p.m.