The best thing for the Nets, after such a tumultuous and trying first half of the season would be to go into the break with a win. Go in a positive, saying they could build off this when they return to action next week.

But the reality is they went into the break exactly how you would have expected them to, with a little help from Mother Nature.

The Nets had played well enough to win more than one of their previous nine games, but last night they reverted back to their old ways. They let an early lead disappear quickly and then the Nets disappeared on both ends of the court in a 97-77 loss to Milwaukee.

The Nets also lost a player to injury – Keyon Dooling – and had a least one more leave the building unhappy – Chris Douglas-Roberts. They also played in front of the smallest crowd of the season and for this building that says a lot.

We’re not putting down the fans. The ones who came out deserve credit because they braved the blizzard and came out to cheer as well as razz coach Kiki Vandeweghe.

There were chants of “CD-R,” who didn’t play until garbage time, and one fan screamed, “Kiki, fire yourself.” In this setting, Vandeweghe had to have heard it. You could hear everything the fans were saying.

The official total was 1,016 fans, which was more than anyone expected considering the amount of snow that fell in the area. Those fans deserved something better than courtside seats. They deserved to see a win, but the Nets couldn’t deliver.

It wasn’t surprising, but it was in a way.

After all those close games lately, this was one the Nets could have gotten if they played with the same energy with which they started. Devin Harris, back from a one-game absence due to a shoulder injury, got off to a good start and had the Nets in good position early. But they couldn’t sustain.

“This is the first time in I think eight or nine games where we didn’t compete in the second half,” Vandeweghe said. “People looked very tired to me.”

In the second half, the Nets looked like a team ready for the All-Star break, counting the seconds for it to come. It was 60-59 Milwaukee with about 3:40 left in the third period when an avalanche buried the Nets.

They couldn’t hit shots – seen that before – and couldn’t guard the Bucks. Milwaukee sizzled in the fourth, hitting 12-of-16 shots. The Nets hit 13 in the second half.

So it was a typical Nets’ performance. Jarvis Hayes called it an aberration because of how the Nets have played lately. It could be possible that those eight or nine games were an aberration and this was the real Nets.

After all, they have lost 48 times already and many of those nights the games weren't competitive. There are still 30 games remaining in this season so pleny of more defeats await
 
Perhaps of all the good things about the break – rest for the physically and mentally weary, a chance to refresh and return in a better state of mind – the best thing for the Nets is they won’t lose anymore games for at least another week.

Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)