Last night in Houston, the Nets were winning 95-90 with 2:34 left in the game before they collapsed, allowing the Rockets–behind James Harden–to storm back, regain the lead and eventually steal a win. Tonight in Dallas, Brooklyn was almost in exactly the same situation, although it ended much differently.
The Nets–who dominated basically the entire second half–found themselves up five (97-92) yet again after a Dirk Nowitzki three-point play with 2:36 to play. So, this is the point in the Houston game where they started taking low-percentage shots en route to another patented late-game failure. But, against the Mavericks, they did exactly the opposite and ending up holding Rick Carlisle’s team off for a much-needed victory.
Brooklyn could have fallen back onto bad habits and lost its second-straight game before heading back home to take on the Warriors at Barclays. The good thing is the Nets learned from their mistakes from the night before and made the necessary changes to take down one of the West’s top teams.
Both teams were evenly matched in the first half with the Mavericks holding a slight lead–no bigger than eight points–throughout before being up 51-47 at halftime. The Nets didn’t play poorly by any means but couldn’t get a whole lot going offensively and were hampered by a scoreless two quarters from Joe Johnson.
Then, as it has been for many Nets wins this season, the third quarter came around and in it, Brooklyn went from playing from behind to playing from ahead. Scoring the first seven points of the second half, the Nets took control of the game and eventually saw their lead balloon to 13 by the end of the frame before a Devin Harris halfcourt buzzer-beater cut it to 10 (remember this?). The Nets won the third quarter 35-21, thanks to 12 points from Dallas native Deron Williams and seven late points from Thaddeus Young.
The fourth quarter was much more tightly contested and it saw Brooklyn lead by as much as 12 before the Mavs made a run to get it down to five and keep the result in question. Dirk’s fadeaway jumper, plus free throw, felt like the kind of play that could sink the Nets’ upset attempt. Young, who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 30 minutes, knocked down a big jumper to answer and essentially seal the win. Last night, the Nets never got that dagger to stabilize the victory, which may have been because Young barely played in crunch time. Tonight, he played and came through.
Assorted thoughts: Many times during the YES broadcast was it mentioned how Deron was seriously courted by Dallas, his hometown team, in free agency a few years ago before re-signing with the Nets. It was also mentioned a lot how well he usually plays against the Mavericks, especially in Dallas, where he is now 4-0 as a Net. He stepped up again in this one, pouring in 25 points on 14 shots (4-for-6 from three) with six rebounds. He looked healthy, spry and was very difficult to guard. When he wasn’t hitting his shots (rare), he was able to move the ball around and initiate some strong Brooklyn offense. As I’ve said many times, when the Nets move the ball well, they hit shots and win. It’s that simple….Joe Johnson was held scoreless in the first half but broke out in the second for 15 points, making some clutch open threes in the process. He also collected eight rebounds, giving him 8+ boards for the fourth-straight game. The Nets made a point to get him going in the post–as I suggested in my recap last night–and it paid off, getting him some easy looks early that undoubtedly helped him with his jumper later….Mason Plumlee (14 points and 10 rebounds) and Thad were also crucial to this win. Mason was in foul trouble throughout the night but asserted himself on offense and the glass, even blocking three shots as Brooklyn controlled the paint. As I mentioned above, Young played incredibly well and, after not getting much run in Houston, was on the floor while the Nets made their run in the third and held the lead in the fourth. He continued to create second possession while locking down on defense and making jumpers, layups and hook shots to boot. Dude does it all, and provides a ton of energy to this team….Markel Brown came back to earth after a few amazing performances but did play well on defense on smaller guards like Monta Ellis, Devin Harris and J.J. Barea. His scoring might come and go but it seems as if he can develop into a lockdown defender….Bojan Bogdanovc returned from an ankle injury and played 11 inconsequential minutes. Nothing good, nothing bad. At least he’s healthy….Jarrett Jack, a night after potentially blowing the game with an ill-advised three-point attempt, was more controlled in Dallas even if he did jack up (pun intended) more contested triples. He did made a few big shots late, ending up with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting. When he plays within himself, he’s a huge asset to the Nets and Lionel Hollins.
Onto the next one: The Nets finally head home after their eight-game road trip to take on the West-leading Golden State Warriors on Monday night
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