On February 9, Beijing time, the Nets home game, Durant and Harden continued to be absent due to injury, and Irving could not play because of local epidemic prevention regulations. Nash could only send a starless starting lineup of Bembry, Edwards, Griffin, Bruce Brown and Mills.
Just 3 minutes into the opening, the Nets were hit by the opponent to play a 14-0 climax, missing 3 superstars, the Nets offensive end was unable to score, it was difficult for Griffin to hit a goal, but then was again confused by the opponent. With 5:08 left in the first quarter, the Nets trailed 2-28, forcing Nash to call another timeout. In the first 15 shots, the Nets hit just 1 goal, while the opponent hit 13 of the 15.
In the final moments of the first quarter, James Johnson won the free throw opportunity, and the result was also two missed, but fortunately, he then made up for it by breaking through the layup, and Jerwan Carter immediately hit a three-point shot at the top of the arc, and the Nets offense finally ushered in a recovery. However, after the first quarter, the Nets still trailed by as many as 19 points 16-35!
Throughout the first quarter, Mills scored no points on 0-of-4, Griffin scored 2 points on 1-of-4 and Bemburi scored equally on 0-of-3. Rookie Thomas scored 2 points on 1-of-6, while James Johnson and Carter each scored 6 points! The Nets combined 7-of-25 in the first quarter and made as many as six turnovers, which were the two main reasons why they fell behind by a large margin.