For the second time this season, the Brooklyn Nets delivered a last-second dagger to the Denver Nuggets, winning 121-120 in overtime at Pepsi Center.
Brook Lopez tipped in Shane Larkin’s layup with 0.4 seconds to play in overtime, improving the Nets to 3-3 on their road trip and giving Brooklyn their fifth straight win over the Nuggets.
“I just went to crash,” Lopez, who scored 20 points on the night, said. “We had lots of great looks in the fourth quarter and overtime. None of them seemed to be going in. There was a rebound on the rim of the basket. I knew I probably should crash. It came off and I was trying to put it in any way possible.”
To make the win that much sweeter – and that much saltier for the Nuggets – the resilient Nets forced overtime in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Down 112-110, Bojan Bogdanovic was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit two-of-three from the stripe to get Brooklyn to the extra frame.
“Our guys kept battling,” Interim Head Coach Tony Brown said. “Give credit to them and our young guys off the bench: Shane [Larkin], Markel [Brown] kept battling. And Brook’s our guy, we’re going to him in those situations.”
The Nets shot 50.5% on the night, with six players hitting double-digits, including a career-night from Markel Brown, who had a career-high (and team-high) 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
“I was just playing in the flow of the game,” Markel Brown said. “The bigs set awesome screens, there was a road to the basket and I was able find on the pocket pass. We made open shots and it opened up the inside.”
The Nets were good on the floor, but lethal from distance, hitting 13-of-22 three’s, including nine in the first half. The 13 three’s were Brooklyn’s most in a road game this season and helped stretch the floor in the second half.
“We had so many great looks from three over the course of the game,” Lopez said. “Definitely in the first half and it really opened things up for us and got us a lot of stuff inside.”
Lopez wasn’t kidding; everything went in for the Nets in the first quarter. The Nets shot 68.4% (13-of-19) in the first quarter, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Bogdanovic (17 points) started his night early, draining his first three shots from deep, scoring 11 points in the first quarter.
The Nets continued to hit threes in the second quarter, dropping 4-of-5, all from the bench. The Nets shot 57.1% (12-of-21) for 32 points in the second quarter – including 22 points from their reserves – but the Nuggets hung around, scoring 32 points as well, shooting 50% (11-of-22). The Nets led 63-57 at halftime.
The game remained close until the end. Brown hit a three-pointer to tie the game 90-90 heading to the fourth, setting up the wild finish.
“We went in and made shots when it counted,” Markel Brown said.
Emmanuel Mudiay scored a game-high 25 points, as the Nuggets – who shot 47.9% – also had six players hit double-digits. Mudiay had six of Denver’s eight points in OT and scored the Nuggets last baskets in both the fourth quarter and overtime.
Kenneth Faried had 17 points and 10 rebounds, while rookie Nikola Jokic had 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Led by Brown’s career night, the Nets bench outscored the Nuggets bench 53-35. Shane Larkin and Sean Kilpatrick each had 12 points. Thaddeus Young had 16 points.
The Nets continue their road trip on Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. eastern.
NOTES: The Nets had season-high 32 assists on Friday… The Nets have won a franchise-best three straight in Denver.
