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Filling in for the injured Joe Johnson, MarShon Brooks hit his first nine shots and ended up scoring 27 points to go along with seven assists |
In the final stop before they finally go back to Brooklyn after a 17-day, eight-game roadtrip, the Nets went into Cleveland and quickly and promptly obliterated one of the NBA's worst teams, even though Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace both missed the action due to injury. Joe's replacement in MarShon Brooks had one of his best games of the season, scoring nearly 30 points while doling out seven assists, a surprising and wonderful line from one of the team's biggest wild-cards on its roster.
Deron Williams was on fire, scoring 24 of his own points on 8-14 shooting (4-6 from three) with eight dimes (and just one turnover). Basically everyone that played (even Toko Shengalia and newest-Net Kris Joseph) was good, except for Keith Bogans, who was scoreless as he missed all five three-pointers he attempted. You can't win 'em all.
Brooklyn took control of this one early, building an eight-point lead by the end of the first quarter, augmenting it to 30 (66-36) at half, and let it slowly (too slow to be in danger of losing it) dissipate throughout the second half as they let their feet off the proverbial gas pedal. Don't get me wrong, the Nets still played decent ball in the third and fourth quarters, but they were just good enough to make sure that their big, double-digit advantage wouldn't slip away as so many of their other leads of that ilk have this season.
Some other observations I had from the game: The Nets shot 73 percent from the field in the first half. The Nets shot 73 percent from the field in the first half. The Nets shot 73 percent from the field in the first half……#ReggieEvansReboundWatch: 18. Ridiculous…….Brook Lopez with a solid 14-point, six-rebound effort. I'll take it……D-Will was incredible, yet again. Second-half All-Star, no doubt….C.J. Watson hit all four of the threes he took tonight, scoring 12 points and collecting seven assists of his own. Continuing the great back-up point guard work he's been doing the whole year……DERON WILLIAMS DUNKED FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS WHOLE SEASON……The win is the Nets' 21st of this season on the road, meaning they have officially clinched the first-ever above-.500 road record in team history.
Looking Ahead
The Nets head home to take on the Chicago Bulls in a nationally-televised matchup at Barclays Center tomorrow night.
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