Another Nets game against a top team, another near-collapse. Up 10 points with four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Brooklyn could only watch as MVP candidate Stephen Curry got hot from three-point range to tie up the score less than three minutes later. Thankfully for the Nets, Jarrett Jack was there with one second left to drill a contested jumper to win the game, Brooklyn’s second in a row and fourth in six games.
With the Warriors playing the last game of a six-game road trip, coming off a crazy comeback win the night before in Boston, Golden State was clearly fatigued and it showed early. The Nets raced out to a 33-23 lead at the end of the first quarter behind some hot shooting and uncharacteristic misses from the Warriors. The only thing keeping them in the game was Andrew Bogut, who dominated Mason Plumlee at the rim and on the glass early. He would end up with 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Brooklyn lead was cut by almost half in the second quarter, which is when Golden State reserve big man Festus Ezeli took over where Bogut left off. Ezeli, a second-year player out of Vanderbilt, plays just 11 minutes per game, averaging 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Warriors. But, tonight, he was unstoppable, scoring 14 points and eight rebounds in just 15 minutes, with eight points in the frame.
He was a big reason the Warriors posted so many second-chance points (24 to Brooklyn’s 11) and why they were able to be down 57-51 at half after a weak two quarters by their own lofty standards.
The third quarter was much of the same, with the Nets going up by as much as nine points before prompt answers from the Warriors managed to keep the deficit relatively low. Curry didn’t do much scoring before the final frame but hit a big triple right before the end of the third to make it a six-point game heading into the final 12 minutes.
An Andre Iguodala three right at the beginning of the quarter made it a three-point game, putting the Warriors–who furiously rallied to take down Boston on Sunday–within just a single possession. A few minutes later, when Curry drilled a three of his own, the Warriors were down one point and it seemed like another Brooklyn collapse.
Then, Thaddeus Young happened. The newest Net, who is now 4-2 with Brooklyn, knocked down triples on back-to-back possessions to push the lead back up to 97-92 at the 8:41 mark. The Nets would eventually–on a Deron Williams jumper–be up 10 with four minutes to play. That’s when Curry took over, scoring 11 of the game’s next 14 points to even the score at 108.
At this point, defeat seemed all but inevitable for a team that needs every win it can get. Both teams promptly turned the ball over, so it was Nets ball with 20 seconds left on the clock. The perfect time for a Joe Johnson isolation you’d think, right? Partially correct, but instead Jack got the iso and, with the game’s final seconds ticking away, calmly drilled a 17-footer in Curry’s grill.
The Nets were up 110-108 and, once Golden State called a timeout, they had to get one more stop for a win over the NBA’s best team. I know I was expecting another Curry three but instead the Warriors had trouble with the in-bounds, eventually getting the ball to their superstar under the basket. Possibly thrown off by his strange position on the floor, Curry wasn’t able to get a shot off in time, sealing the win for Brooklyn.
Assorted thoughts: Let’s get the negatives out of the way first. To begin, Bogut and Ezeli combined for 30 points on 12-for-16 shooting in a clear sign of a poor defensive effort by Mason Plumlee and Brook Lopez. Also, the Warriors won the rebounding battle 50-38, emphasized by their 17 offensive boards. Outside of the second-chance points they got, the additional rebounds didn’t do much for Golden State due to the team’s 15 turnovers. So, normally when the Nets get outrebounded, it means their opponent gets 10-15 more field goal attempts. Tonight, that wasn’t the case which contributed to the win….D-Will continued his strong play, scoring 22 points on 8-for-19 shooting (4-for-7 from three) and looking more and more like the All-Star the Nets traded for. He was a force on offense, commanding defensive pressure that opened up teammates from deep (10-for-21 from three as a group) and at the rim (49.4 percent shooting from the field overall). Brook led the team with 26 points, though, as he was the best player on the floor for much of the night before Curry got hot. Brooklyn fed its center early and often and he was dominant in his 26 minutes, scoring whenever the team needed a hoop. When these two get on the same page, it can be a beautiful thing….Thaddeus and Alan Anderson each scored 14 points, with both knocking down some important deep balls when the Warriors threatened to make a run. It’s nice to have so many contributors on offense….Jack may have only scored nine points in the whole game and took some ill-advised shots, but his game-winner ended up being all that mattered. He stepped up when his team asked him to, and now Brooklyn has back-to-back wins over two of the West’s top six teams….Not much scoring for Markel Brown but his defense was a big reason Curry was quiet early and why Klay Thompson was so bad (seven points on 3-for-17 shooting, 1-for-9 from three). He has quickly morphed into a capable defender from a one-dimensional high-flying athlete. What a difference some playing time can make.
Onto the next one: Wednesday night at Barclays vs the Hornets
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