Getty Head coach Jacque Vaughn of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during game play.
The Brooklyn Nets put their NBA-leading 12-game win streak on the line when they faced the struggling Chicago Bulls on January 4. After the Boston Celtics’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder the previous night, a Nets win would have moved them into a two-way tie with Boston for first place in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, a win was not in the cards for the Nets as they fell to the Bulls 112-121.
Brooklyn still has the longest win streak in the NBA this season, despite the disappointing loss. After the game, Nets head coach Jacque Vaughan issued a challenge to his team. Under Vaughan, they’ve enjoyed the luxury of winning, as shown by their 23-8 record since he took over. But now, Vaughan is interested in seeing how his team will respond to losing.
“That’s what I told the group. We have shown how to respond after a win, and we just kept winning. Now how do we respond after a loss? That’s why you don’t get too high or too low in this thing,” Vaughan said to reporters after the loss via SNY.
“That’s what I told the group. We have shown how to respond after a win and we just kept winning. Now how do we respond after a loss? That’s why you don’t get too high or too low in this thing”
– Jacque Vaughn
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Kevin Durant, Jacque Vaughan Sound Off on Loss to Bulls
A tough pill to swallow for the Nets is that the game was winnable until the final buzzer. But the team put themselves behind the eight-ball by allowing the Bulls to score 40 points in the first quarter. They also made their runs throughout the contest, outscoring the Bulls 27-19 in the third quarter. But ultimately, they could not overcome the hole they dug for themselves to start the game.
Vaughan said that his team was “playing catch-up” for most of the contest, making it more difficult to overcome the deficit.
“We could not get over the hump, and a big part of it was we were playing catch-up the whole night. The 40-point first quarter set the tone,” Vaughn said via the New York Post. “So, tip your hat to them; they came to play. They were pretty desperate to get a win, and we needed that same desperation.”
Nets star Kevin Durant, who led all scorers with 44 points in the contest, echoed a similar sentiment as his coach.
Oh yeah, I feel the same way. I feel like in some of our coverages, we were playing catch-up a bit,” Durant added.
“Against this team, you’ve got three elite scores from all angles on the floor. You got to be there, you’ve got to do your work early [in the possession] and you’ve got to just be there on the catch. So, I felt like a lot of times we chased them a bit. And that was just consistent throughout the whole game, us just playing from behind.”
Jacque Vaughan Sound Off on Coach of the Month Award
The Nets’ turnaround this season has been one of the more remarkable storylines. At one point, they were near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, placing as low as 13th in November. Fast forward to the new year, and they are battling with the defending Eastern Conference champs to overtake the top seed in their conference.
Vaughan has been the catalyst of that turnaround as he has completely shifted the culture in the Nets’ locker room, leading them to a record of 12-1 in December. For his work, Vaughan was rewarded with the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award. Before the matchup with the Bulls, the Nets coach reacted to receiving the honor.
“I got a great text from a friend of mine that I won’t say who it is, but he said ‘What’s so special about a turtle sitting on top of a fence post? He didn’t get there on his own.” Vaughn said via the New York Post.
“So, I’m very smart to know that that award is the performance team, it’s the coaching staff, it is at the end of the day, it’s the players. So, we had a great month as a team, because of those guys came out, and they balled out, and they hooped. So, I’m just a turtle; that’s it.”
If the Nets can keep up their current pace, Vaughan could be one of the top vote-getters for the NBA Coach of the Year award.
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Jacque Vaughan Calls Out Nets After Bulls Snap Win Streak