Maybe the Nets’ defense fed off the offense. Or maybe they were just fed up.
Whatever the case, Brooklyn gutted out a 116-109 slump-busting victory over Indiana before 15,770 at Barclays Center on Monday night, snapping a four-game skid.
“It was very important for us to get a response,” coach Steve Nash said. “The win was nice. I care much more about our process and I thought the process was great. The spirit was great, we were connected, we played hard. We were able to do the extra things, the little things, and especially at the end.”
Kevin Durant (game-high 36 points, nine rebounds, seven assists) and Kyrie Irving (28 points, six assists) scored as usual. But there was Nic Claxton getting four of the Nets’ nine blocked shots. And Joe Harris chipping in with three steals and a block.
Kevin Durant dunks during the Nets’ win over the Pacers. NBAE via Getty Images
Eight fans sat courtside wearing ‘Fight Anti-Semitism’ shirts as the Nets and Pacers played. Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTYes, the Nets built a 24-point lead in the second quarter only to squander it in the fourth, watching Chris Duarte (30 points) knot it at 100-all with 6:54 to play. But despite letting the Pacers (3-5) take the momentum, they never let them take the lead.
Claxton soared in for a follow dunk 27 seconds later, and the Nets (2-5) never trailed again.
Kyrie Irving finished with 28 points. Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTDurant went to work on the baseline for a 15-foot pull up that made it 104-100, and his free throws pushed it to six with 5:28 to play.
The Nets closed it out from there, holding the Pacers to 11 of 39 from deep.
“I just thought the sense of urgency was there. Guys respected this team and knew they could get hot on us, which they did there, couple spurts throughout the game but we stayed poised,” Durant said. “We did a good job of keeping them in front of us. We were able to get a win.”
Claxton, who admits he had been “lax” the past few games and got chastised by Nash, had 19 points and nine boards to go with his blocks. He didn’t think Saturday’s players-only meeting was as big a factor as the Nets just looking in the mirror and deciding to do what was needed.
“I mean honestly talk is cheap,” Claxton said. “Everybody in the organization, we’ve just been pissed off and we want to be better so I know that everybody just being on the same page today, that’s what matters.
“You can talk, talk talk, talk, but you got to go out there and get the job done. And we did that tonight. And we just got to be consistent. It can’t just be a one-night thing. We got to bring that every single night no matter who we’re playing against.”
