A month ago, the Nets turned in the worst defensive performance in the league this season. Since then, they’ve been as hot as any team in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn cruised to a workmanlike 112-100 victory over Washington at Capital One Arena. It was their fourth straight win – tying the Knicks for the longest streak in the East – and 11th in their last 14 since their Nov. 15 humiliation in Sacramento.
Despite the firing of Steve Nash and suspension of Kyrie Irving, at least on the court that night had been the low point of their seesaw season. They’d shown little fire in getting drilled 153-121, by far the most points they’d ever allowed in regulation and the most conceded by any NBA team this season.
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But since then the Nets (17-12) have played an enthusiastic energetic brand of basketball. They led by as much as 17 and cruised.
After winning Sunday in Indiana without eight rotation players, they got seven of them back against the Wizards. Kevin Durant – playing just miles from his Prince George’s (Md.) county home – poured in 30 points, nine rebounds, six assists and flashed a huge Cheshire Cat grin after blocking a shot.
There was Irving adding 24 points, six boards, five assists and sailing headlong into the stands for a loose ball with a 96-85 cushion in the fourth quarter.
Anybody searching for what Jacque Vaughn has instilled in this team since Nash’s departure didn’t need words: They just needed to watch.
“I think that’s the biggest thing: I think we’ve committed ourselves to playing for and with each other, and that started on the defensive end of the floor,” Vaughn said. “We just asked the guys to play hard. At the end of the day, you can cover up a lot of things by just playing hard. So we’ve taken that approach for most nights.
No, Tuesday wasn’t anywhere near as dominant as their last meeting, when they came to Washington on Nov. 4 – Vaughn’s second game in charge as then-interim – and rolled to a 128-86 laugher with Irving suspended. But it was a continuation of the yeoman’s work ethic over the past month that will serve them well.
“Our approach. No matter who is playing, who is not playing, it’s today’s game, taking it very seriously and having a mental edge about us to start this game,” said Vaughn. “Guys should be well-rested and feel good about themselves. Plenty of juice. We should come out and try to take the first punch.”
With the score knotted at 17-all on a Will Barton pull-up, they did just that. Durant’s 3-pointer capped an 11-2 run and handed the Nets a nine-point edge.
They survived a first quarter that saw Nic Claxton – returning from a hamstring injury — get saddled with three fouls in a scoreless 4:44, while his counterpart Kristaps Porzingis poured in a dozen points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Brooklyn trailed 42-36 after a Jordan Goodwin free throw, but an Irving 4-point play sparked another run. A Yuta Watanabe steal ended up as an acrobatic Irving scoop shot to cap an 11-0 Nets spurt.
Brooklyn leads the Wizards 47-42 with 6:07 in the half.
A Joe Harris outlet basket ran it to 79-66 midway through the third quarter, and Irving going airborne was the lasting image of the fourth, handing the Wizards a seventh straight defeat.
-This story was first published in the New York Post and reproduced with permission
ELSEWHERE …
Damian Lillard has delivered a hammer blow to the Timberwolves, scoring 38 points with a mammoth 11 three pointers.
Portland beat Minnesota by 21 points in a victory that has seen them slot into 6th place in the Western Conference.
Jerami Grant also chipped in with 24 points, shooting seven from seven free throws and seven from 12 from the field.
For the Timberwolves, gun centre Karl Anthony-Towns remained on the sidelines with a calf strain as their star trio of Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and D’Angelo Russell combined for 56 points.
The Miami Heat took down the Indiana Pacers 87-82 on the road in a low-scoring affair behind 22 points from Bam Adebayo.
Adebayo added 17 rebounds in a strong performance, while Jimmy Butler chipped in 20 points with seven boards and five assists.
Tyrese Haliburton had an uncharacteristic off game, shooting 0-of-9 from the field and finishing with just one point as the Pacers dropped their sixth game from their last eight.
In Memphis, the Grizzlies routed the Atlanta Hawks 128-103 in a career-best eight-block performance from Jaren Jackson Jr. – setting a franchise record – in just 24 minutes in a huge defensive showing.
Jackson was dominant from the first quarter – where he swatted four of shots – also finishing the game with 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies to the win against a Hawks side missing Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and John Collins.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs produced a shock 112-111 home upset win over the Cleveland Cavaliers for Gregg Popovich’s side’s third-straight victory.
Josh Richardson poured in 24 points off the bench and Keldon Johnson added 21 as the Spurs survived a late rally from Donovan Mitchell, who had 28 points, and the Cavs.
Josh Giddey and the OKC Thunder fell to the Luke Doncic and the Mavericks 121-114 in Dallas despite 42 points from Shai Gilgouex-Alexander.
Doncic posted 38 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway both scored 20 points in the win.
The Mavs were without Josh Green (elbow), who’s expected to miss several more games due to the injury, per the Dallas Morning News.
ALL RESULTS
HEAT 97 PACERS 82
NETS 112 WIZARDS 100
HAWKS 103 GRIZZLIES 128
THUNDER 114 MAVERICKS 121
CAVALIERS 111 SPURS 112
TIMBERWOLVES 112 TRAIL BLAZERS 133
CELTICS 93 CLIPPERS 113