The Brooklyn Nets ran into one of the league's top up-and-coming teams when they traveled to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Brooklyn faced another promising young squad in the New Orleans Pelicans to open the season. The result was an embarrassing blowout loss. The Nets turned in a more valiant effort this time, falling 134-124 to the Grizzlies.

The loss had a significantly different feel than the season opener. Brooklyn traded blows with Memphis early before jumping out to a 69-64 lead at the end of the first half. The Nets flashed beautiful ball movement in the opening half, recording 19 assists on 27 made field goals. They exceeded that assists total in a half just once last season.

Brooklyn's defense, on the other hand, was non-existent. And their deficiencies on that end would ultimately cost them the game in the third quarter. They were outscored 45-28 in the frame as Memphis shot 14 of 25 and 5 of 9 from three. While the Nets were able to cut the deficit to six late in the fourth, the lead proved too much to overcome.

Disappointing showing from top defenders

Ben Simmons and Royce O'Neale have earned reputations as high-level perimeter defenders during their careers. They were brought to a Nets team desperately in need of wing defenders for that exact reason. Brooklyn did not see those returns Monday night.

Both struggled as Memphis' young duo of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane had a field day offensively. Morant finished with 38 points on 12-of-22 shooting. However, it was Bane who would prove deadly down the stretch. The TCU product lit up the Nets for 32 points on 7-of-10 shooting from three in the second half. Bane did whatever he wanted offensively: stepping back, pulling up, catching and shooting off flare screens and taking Brooklyn defenders to the rim.

The Nets were clearly out of sync defensively as they lost the red-hot Bane several times on miscommunications. When challenging Bane on the perimeter to take away the three, Simmons, O'Neale and Nic Claxton proved incapable of keeping the guard from getting to the rim.

Memphis finished the game 47-of-94 (50 percent) from the field and 16-of-34 (47 percent) from three. For a Nets team that brought in Simmons and O'Neale alongside one of the league's top perimeter-defending big men in Claxton, Monday's results were extremely underwhelming.

Ben Simmons' aggressiveness again a disappointment

Simmons took a step forward in terms of aggressiveness in Brooklyn's win over the Toronto Raptors last Friday. The three-time All-Star's performance was a noticeable improvement from his passive Nets debut. He looked to be trending in a positive direction offensively again in the first half against the Grizzlies. Simmons scored six points in the half with a pair of drives that looked more aggressive than anything he had done in a Nets uniform prior.

However, the progress would halt there as the 26-year-old disappeared down the stretch. Memphis made the decision to largely ignore Simmons in the second half, sagging off him deep into the lane to help on Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The first-year Net did next to nothing to take advantage, attempting just two shots in the half, one of which was a desperation three to end the third quarter.

Once again, when Simmons was aggressive, good things happened. The former number-one pick generated looks at the rim and found Brooklyn's shooters for several open threes on the perimeter. However, the inconsistency of Simmons' mindset continues to be a problem and hurt the Nets down the stretch offensively. He was a team-worst minus 16 on the night.

Claxton and Day'Ron Sharpe's presence as non-shooting centers has not helped Simmons' re-acclimation process. The point guard's fit alongside the big men has been subpar with both frequently clogging driving lanes. General Manager Sean Marks may need to address this on the trade market sooner rather than later.

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Durant and Irving were locked in offensively from the jump Monday. The duo combined for 74 points (37 apiece) on 28-of-44 shooting. Durant single-handedly kept Brooklyn in the game during Memphis' third-quarter outburst, scoring 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the frame. The former MVP moved to 20th on the NBA's all-time scoring list in the loss, passing Alex English.

Irving topped 30 points for the second-straight game. The guard posted 67 points and 12 assists on 25-of-48 (52.1 percent) shooting in the pair of contests.

Monday marked the third time Durant and Irving have scored 35-plus points in the same game. The Nets have had multiple players score 35-plus in the same game just three times in franchise history outside of the duo.

The loss drops Brooklyn to 1-2 on the season. They will travel to Milwaukee for a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday before returning home to host the Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers later this week.