A lot of good things happened for the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
They beat the New York Knicks 110-104 in a back-and-forth thriller, snapped a five-game losing streak and picked up their first win at Barclays Center since Dec. 10.
The Nets played fast and finished strong, outscoring the Knicks 36-29 in the fourth quarter. They shot over 50% from the field (45-of-86) and over 50% from distance (9-of-17). In the process Interim Head Coach Tony Brown picked up his first win of the season, the smiling coach nearly hoarse by the time he addressed the media.
“I wanted them to play free and with a bit of pace,” Brown said. “I saw a little passion. I thought our guys were excited to play in the second half, especially down the stretch and they fed off each other. That was one of the first times in a long time I’ve seen that with this team.”
Offensively, they did. Brook Lopez had a team-high 20 points – along with a season-high-tying five assists – but six different Nets scored in double-digit points. Thaddeus Young scored 19 and added 11 boards for his team-leading 19th double-double of the season, while former-Knick Shane Larkin had a season-high 17 points off the bench. Larkin scored 11 points in the fourth, including a late dagger putting the Nets up 104-96 with 34.4 to play, effectively sealing the win for Brooklyn.
“I think everyone had a hand in this victory,” Brown said. “We took a big punch in the second half… We took a big punch from them, but stayed with it and finished it off.”
Brown’s referring to the Nets’ resiliency, digging deep as the momentum swung for both teams, as they traded the lead seven times. Down the stretch they got aggressive in the paint, racking up second-chance points and getting to the foul line when they didn’t score. The Nets went to the stripe four times in the first 45 minutes and another 10 in the final three.
“We just had a very great energy about us the entire game,” Lopez said. “Regardless if we were hot, or they were making a run, we played the same way. That’s what we need to do. Down the stretch especially we played confidently, we played our game and shared the ball well. It was a complete team effort.”
The Nets harnessed the energy in Barclays Center, embracing the derby-style crowd synonymous with any cross-town rivalry. To the Nets on Wednesday, it was just some extra juice. Of course, a chance to stick it to the Knicks helped too.
“Whenever you play a cross-town rival, from high school to college to the NBA, there’s always going to be a little more energy in the building, a little more energy within yourself,” Larkin said. “Tonight definitely playing against them in our building after they beat us by 30 points in theirs, definitely gave me some more energy and motivation to play hard.”
Derrick Williams carried the offense for the Knicks Wednesday, dropping a game-high 31 points, including 15 in the second quarter. The Nets held rookie Kristaps Porzingis in check, limiting him to 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
Joe Johnson continued his post New Year’s resurgence, scoring 14 points (6-of-12, 2-of-4 from deep) with seven boards and six assists. Johnson is averaging 14.7ppg, shooting .512 from the field and .500 from deep over his past seven games. Bojan Bogdanovic shot 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
With the win, the Nets evened the season series with the Knicks and picked up their fifth win in six tries against New York dating back to last season. The Nets wrap up their three-game homestand against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
