BROOKLYN NETS

Dread it.

Run from it.

The road trip arrives all the same.

Tonight, the Brooklyn Nets faced their first test of the daunting stretch with the Oklahoma City Thunder. They started strong and had some bright spots that should provide fans hope for their upcoming games — ultimately, however, that does not change the fact that they failed.

The Nets’ offense was humming to start the night even against the stout defenders on Oklahoma City’s roster. The ball never stuck in one player’s hands for too long and the sharp ball movement allowed Brooklyn to pick apart the Thunder early on. It didn’t hurt that players like Spencer Dinwiddie were also dropping circus shots with ease.

The most impressive aspect of the Nets’ play tonight was easily the defense. They forced 10 turnovers in the opening two quarters alone and held the Thunder to 42 points, tied for their lowest-scoring first half of the entire season. Oklahoma City also shot a measly 34 percent from the field thanks to Brooklyn’s focused effort.

You can’t expect that to last against a team as talented as the Thunder.

The tables were not only turned in the third quarter — they were completely flipped. The Nets coughed the ball up seven times compared to their eight in the entire first half and the Thunder scored 38 points to take their first lead of the night. Brooklyn barely stabilized behind incredible shots from Dinwiddie and kept hope alive for a fourth-quarter rally.

Sadly, that hope alone was not enough to overcome Russell Westbrook and Paul George, the Thunder’s pair of MVP-worthy candidates. The collapse of the Nets in the second half was both spectacular and terrible. Watching a team go from lock-down defense and smooth passes to… whatever one would call the third quarter was jarring. The key for the individual players as well as the team as a whole moving forward will be consistency.

Still, at the end of the day, the Thunder have two All-Star closers with a killer’s mentality — that gave them the important, crucial edge. This squad will need to play Brooklyn’s brand of ball for the full 48 minutes if they want to have any hope of stealing games on this road trip.