The Brooklyn Nets look more damaging in each and every game, and some other net offensive display led to a 129-120 win over the LA Clippers, which locked up the seventh Eastern Conference seed and a playoff game with protective champion Toronto Raptors.
The victory is the fourth in five games in the beyond 8 days for the Nets, who released tuesday to the NBA’s most productive record, the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Clippers are currently in the Western Conference.
“Getting seventh place was vital for us, obviously,” Garrett Temple said. “We wanted to play with whoever was in position at the moment, obviously it was Toronto. We feel confident. Honestly, we’re a different team from the player’s point of view and the way we play now. It’s completely different from what we had. the normal season, so it’s going to be an attractive series.
“We have confidence. If we play the right way, if we play as we have in the last two or 3 games, percentage of the ball, save, even if they turn others around, if we are able to take care of them and do what we have done, we have a chance to win matches. We don’t do the next two games, but we know who we’re going to play and we have a lot of time to prepare, and I think (head coach Jacque Vaughn) and his team are going to do what they do to prepare us for this series ».
After overcoming no less than 21 problems in the first half before Kawhi Leonard took the Clippers a minute’s tie at the start of the third quarter, the Nets completed 120-110 with two minutes remaining in the Clippers’ 122-116 lead. Array Tyler Johnson committed a foul on a drive in the lane with just under a minute to pass and made loose shots, then nullbled a deep triple for a 127-116 lead with 25.3 seconds to play.
“They showed a lot of attention to Caris (LeVert) directly and fairly,” Johnson said. “I knew that if the ball were spinning in my direction, it would just come out to be locked and loaded. Time is running out, so there’s not much room to think about what to do. I did what I felt good at the time, and just to film it.
LeVert led Brooklyn with 27 problems in 10 of 17 shots, plus thirteen assists in his career. Joe Harris scored 2 points in 10 of 16 shots, adding five of 8-3 issues, and Johnson scored 21 problems at the bank, making 6 of 11 shots and five shots in 9-3 points.
Temple had 19 problems and six rebounds, and Jarrett Allen had double-doubles with 16 problems and 16 rebounds, pitching 7 of 9.
The Nets ended up filming 55.3% in total and 46.5% at a distance of 3 points.
“I’m going to keep giving credit to the boys; 32 assists tonight, sharing basketball, the moving ball opposite a very athletic and long team,” Vaughn said. “And then we had the combination of Caris, who can use his game one-on-one to prepare options for us. Joe Harris’s ability to make shots and create movement and boys to get off the bench and feed on it. I think kids are starting to feel where they can take their photos, how they can help each other, and the most productive component is that they do it together.”
Everything was driven by an ordinary first quarter that propelled the Nets to a 74-63 lead at half-time.
They scored 10 of the first 12 numbers of the game and took a 26-10 lead in the middle of the first quarter, making 10 of their first 11 shots, adding five of 6-3 problems. Harris at the time had thirteen problems after making his five shots, adding three triples.
“Obviously we saw the first shots fall, but we made the ball move very well,” Harris said. “The boys were getting into the painting, making the extra pass. It’s just that all the looks we gained in that first room were space and rhythm, smart to wonderful shots.
LeVert played the entire first quarter and took over from there, taking advantage of a drive and providing a loan and tray for a 32-19 lead. Three of LeVert and Johnson gave Brooklyn a 40-23 win, and Harris returned to cancel 3 more with 33.5 seconds to play, and LeVert’s turn hit the bell for a 45-24 lead.
It is the second-highest quarter in franchise history, with the 46 mark set 20 years ago against the Celtics. The Nets finished the quarter at 85.7% overall (18 out of 21), the highest basket in the first quarter since they released the same numbers against the Wizards in 2002. LeVert in the point had 17 problems and seven assists, while Harris had 16 problems and remains the best on the field.
“We had a smart speed at the beginning of the game,” Vaughn said. “In general, we sought to be the assailants and dictate the action. Caris stepped on the accelerator early, gave us some confidence and, overall, we kept running. It’s wonderful to see this team weather storms and be able to answer a lot of questions. “
The Nets were still 20 minutes ahead after the start of the fourth moment after three consecutive trios of Chris Chiozza and Harris, and during that time they had controlled 11 of their first 14 3 points.
The Clippers took the lead with a 13-2 run that turned it into a 10-point game before LeVert responded with a jump shot and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot hit a three-pointer and a 74-59 lead. Leonard’s four-point play allowed Los Angeles 11 at halftime.
Harris had 23 problems in the first half and LeVert had 21, either of the two hitting nine of 11. Harris had five of 7-3 problems and LeVert had nine assists.
Leonard cleared the rest of Brooklyn’s lead in the first few minutes of the third quarter, scoring 11 straight points, the last in three consecutive three-pointers, to tie the game to 74.
Two Temple triples were held bybooks in the 10-2 race that allowed the Nets to go 84-77 and took the lead to nine points at an Allen end inside, two LeVert loose shots and a Rebound from Rodions Kurucs. The Clippers were back in a moment before Temple hooked up with a technical foul and Johnson put two in the line to give Brooklyn a 98-94 lead before the last quarter.
Brooklyn opened the final quarter with a pair of three from Johnson, and extended it into a 10-2 run with Johnson and Harris completing with a 108-96 lead.
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