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| Joe Johnson was great, yet again, and led the Nets to a 4th-straight win |
Another 2014 game, another incredible Brooklyn Nets' win over a really good team.
Tonight at Barclays, it was the Golden State Warriors, who were up double figures in the 1st quarter only to see their lead get erased in the 2nd quarter, which the Nets won by a margin of 17 points (37-20). Up seven (59-52) at half, the Nets went cold in the 3rd quarter, allowing the Warriors to seize a one-point lead heading into the 4th.
The entire final frame was a back-and-forth affair between Stephen Curry of the Warriors and Kevin Garnett of the Nets against each other. Curry was simply unstoppable tonight, scoring 34 points. However, he committed seven turnovers–a portion of Golden State's 18 as a team–the last of which finalized the victory for the Nets. With his team down 96-93 and 12 seconds remaining in regulation, Stephen Curry passed the ball–intended for a teammate–right to Kevin Garnett, a mistake that cost him and his team their last legitimate chance at a win or at least push into overtime.
Some other observations I had from the game: I missed the first half of this game, but from what I saw, the Nets played unreal defense down the stretch. Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston were great in causing Curry to take contested game late when desperate to bring the Warriors closer to the lead or a tie. More great, great news for Jason Kidd, whose team is now 4-0 when he doesn't wear a tie….Mirza Teletovic hit just two shots–both threes–but grabbed 10 rebounds and scored eight points, compiling a game-high +23 rating. Love the game diversification from Mirza…..KG went 5-for-7 from the field, scoring 13 points and hitting some incredibly clutch shots in the 4th quarter when noone Net could score. He, along with Livingston, had four steals, which only added to the 22 points off turnovers Brooklyn scored in this one…..More great defense, energy, and all-around hustle from AK, who just keeps doing work when he enters games. The true x-factor for this team…..Can't forget about Joe Johnson (8-for-17 from field and 9-for-11 from free-throw line for 27 points) and Andray Blatche (6-for-13 for 17 points) who both provided much-needed scoring for the Nets, who were stagnant at times on offense.
Looking Ahead
Brooklyn looks to continue its improbable 2014 winning streak on Friday night as the Heat come to town to close out the Nets' four-game home stand.
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