For the first time in 352 days, the Nets hosted real fans live at the Barclays Center. And they did not disappoint them.
Brooklyn won a 127-118 victory over Sacramento – a seventh consecutive league record and a gut-check in a trap game that probably wouldn’t have passed a month ago.
“This is certainly a fair statement. We grew up, we got together a lot more and you can feel the energy between the players. The bond is formed, ”said coach Steve Nash. “This is something you have to invest in every day. … Guys are investing energy and support in each other every night. And that makes it difficult to win. “
They were tough enough on Tuesday. Brooklyn (21-12) withdrew in the final stages of the fourth period, using a 14-1 spurt to turn a rodent’s nail from one point into another victory – and it had some extra significance.
With the Empire State Building shining in black and white celebrating the occasion, the Nets brought fans to Barclays for the first time since March 8, 2020. That seemed like a lifetime ago, with Jacque Vaughn still as interim coach, Kevin Durant still suitable for Brooklyn, and James Harden was still working in Houston.
On Tuesday, he was a dominant Harden leading with another triple-double (29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds). They also had an unexpected 29 from defensive Bruce Brown, who had 3s in a row to close the 14-1 series.
“This is good. It gives us more confidence than we already had,” said Brown. “So we have to keep pushing and try to get more wins.”
Brooklyn’s defense was lacking, allowing the Kings to shoot 51.2 percent behind De’Aaron Fox (27 points) and Tyrese Haliburton (23). But even without Durant, Jeff Green or Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, the Nets did enough to win and stay half a game behind the 76ers, leader of the east.
Brooklyn has the best NBA record against teams .500 and above, with a stellar 12-2. But the Nets’ 8-10 mark against defeating opponents on Tuesday showed why this was a trap – one they might not have avoided before this recent turnaround.
After Fox hit a 3-point ball with 7:07 to play, the Nets were clinging to a 110-109 lead that was tenuous at best. But it was then that they took control and Brown surprisingly led the way.
“He’s a guy who just goes there and competes until the end every night and great things happen to him,” said Harden. “He puts screens and rolls into the basket, he is an unbelievable cutter and he showed us that he is capable of dropping the 3 ball. So he does everything. He works hard and when you work out and keep grinding and pushing, good things happen. … I am proud of him. “
Brown hit two consecutive 3s, the second hitting the cushion for 124-110 with 3:05 remaining. After being mistreated by the Kings’ bank, he celebrated with a small thump and the Nets crossed for the win.
“In the beginning they were leaving me in transition, James was meeting me. So when you see them come in, you feel good, “said Brown, adding from his dance,” They were just talking crazy, and it was my second [3-pointer] so you know how banks act when you’re not shooting well, you know what they say. So I had to do something. “
What he did was seal the game. A Nets team that allowed 66.7 percent of shots in the second quarter doubled over to hold Sacramento down to just 35 percent in the main quarter.
“Fourth quarter defense [was the key]. We increased the volume and kept it at 22. We took a few buckets late and put them to sleep, so I was proud of that, ”said Nash. “I thought everyone contributed. And I thought this was a trap game.
“You have a winning streak on the West Coast, you fly back to the country, getting used to family and friends, then the time zone … and you play against a team that you defeated a week ago. It is a trap game. So, I was proud of the focus. It wasn’t always pretty, but they wanted to win and stopped when they needed to. “