The schedule threw the Nets a five-game stretch that could make weaker men curl into a fetal position and pull their own heads off. Especially considering their last five games from hell segment.
“I don’t even think I remember,” said Devin Harris.
OK, quick refresher: 0-for-5.
So the Nets started this stretch last night with the game they simply won’t forget.
In what was easily their finest game of the season, especially given the opponent – Denver, the West’s third seed and the NBA’s fourth-best scoring team – the Nets dominated in every fashion. And domination was most evident defensively as the Nets mauled the Nuggets, 114-70, for their fourth straight victory, a streak where every beaten opponent was kept under 90 points.
So on a night when all five starters scored in double figures – including Harris, who scored 28 points and shot 17 free throws before sitting the fourth quarter – everybody pointed first and foremost to the defense which had 13 steals, eight blocks and, seemingly, a deflection every 37 seconds as the Nets tied their second largest margin of victory ever.
“I really think it’s coming together. Everybody’s starting to get it,” said Vince Carter (12 points, eight assists), noting how the defense jump-started the offense – which wasn’t too shabby either. “We wanted to limit them to one bad shot, get the ball and get down the floor and make plays.”
Which they did. Which in turn led to a stunning 54-30 rebound advantage, thanks to the likes of Ryan Anderson (13 points, career-high 12 rebounds), who had his first-ever double-double and Brook Lopez, who just missed his fourth straight double-double (15 points, nine rebounds) – but he only played 22 minutes.
“There’s no substitute for effort, the communication is getting better and we’re doing a better job with our pick-and-roll defense right now,” coach Lawrence Frank said after his Nets, in Orlando tonight, improved their field goal defense in the win streak to .374 (116-of-310) as Denver shot .356.
Olympian Carmelo Anthony (15 points, the only Nugget in double figures) was a picture of frustration all game. He sat the fourth quarter after picking up a fifth foul at 3:10 of the third (he had a technical earlier, as did Chauncey Billups and coach George Karl). Ex-Net Kenyon Martin had four points and three rebounds. Not a good night for Denver.
“I think the whole team was [frustrated],” said Trenton Hassell (11 points), who was masterful defensively in a third straight start. “There was a lot of physical play and I think they weren’t getting calls they thought they [would].”
And some of the physical play sent Harris repeatedly to the line.
“He was in attack mode from the beginning and maintained it,” Frank said.
So the defense was flawless, the ball movement superb. The Nets led by five after one quarter, by 20 at the half and offered no let-up in the third.
“We’re starting to find our rhythm again,” said Keyon Dooling. “It wouldn’t be in our best interests to think about how bad we did in the last tough stretch.”
But this one, they can savor for a while.
Nets 114 Nuggets 70
