After blowing huge leads in back-to-back games against Golden State and Charlotte, this time, when the Nets got the Lakers down, they kept them down.
The Nets put together a slump-busting 111-108 victory over the Lakers before a sellout crowd of 18,215 at Barclays Center on Monday.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers looks for an opening as he is doubled teamed by the Nets during the second quarter on March 10. Charles WenzelbergThe win snapped a seven-game losing skid that was the longest in the NBA and tied for the Nets’ worst of the season.
“The scramble and the energy, the communication was very good. So happy for the guys, proud of the guys, because after losing seven in a row … it’s just good to get back to winning,” coach Jordi Fernández said. “It’s a good reward for the work. And obviously, after a bad one, it’s a good feeling.”
The work was mostly on the defensive end for the Nets (22-42).
Noah Clowney had a team-high 19 points. Keon Johnson — who turned 23 on Monday — and Cam Johnson had 18 points each.
But it was the Nets’ ball pressure that helped them pile up a 19-4 edge in points off turnovers. They held Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to a combined 11-for-40 shooting from the floor, and 4-for-15 from deep.
“Sometimes you bring the energy and you’re flying around. When you put two on the ball, you’re opening up something else. And sometimes you just gotta get lucky,” Fernández said. “The whole team did a really good job and our energy was there and that’s the reason we came up with a win.”
Cameron Johnson #2 of the Brooklyn Nets goes up for a shot against the Lakers during the second quarter on March 10. Charles WenzelbergIt was a win that didn’t really cost them in the lottery race, staying half a game behind fifth-place Toronto, though falling even with Philadelphia in a tie for sixth.
Doncic had a triple-double (22 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists), but with LeBron James out with a groin strain, the Nets doubled him constantly. It worked, and they broke a seven-game skid in which they blew a 22-point lead against the Warriors on Thursday and a 17-point cushion at the Hornets on Saturday.
This time, though, the Nets flipped the script. They dug their way out of an early 15-point hole.
An extended 26-9 Lakers run left the Nets trailing 31-15.
But the Nets responded with a 19-7 run, Cam Johnson’s 3-pointer giving them a 48-47 lead that they took into the locker room.
Day’Ron Sharpe of the Brooklyn Nets reacts on the court during the second quarter against
the Lakers on March 10. Charles WenzelbergThen a 9-1 Brooklyn run — capped by a Keon Johnson 3-pointer — gave them their biggest lead of the night at 59-51 with 8:24 left in the third quarter.
Unlike their past two contests, this time there was no meltdown.
A Reaves 30-footer cut it to 106-103 with 38 seconds left, but Ziaire Williams’ layup with 13.3 seconds left to play let the Nets exhale.
Doncic’s contested 31-footer got the Lakers within a deuce. But Clowney got free for a dunk, plus the and-one. Cam Johnson could’ve iced it at the line with two seconds left, only to miss both free throws.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers missed the game against the Nets on March 10. Charles WenzelbergBut Doncic could only get off a 77-foot heave that fell short.
“Just making it tough for Luka. I feel like we did that. He was inefficient,” Tyrese Martin said. “We just decided that we’re gonna let other guys beat us, and they scored, but we got the win. So that’s all that matters.”





