The Nets needed a gut-check after Monday’s humiliating loss. One night later, they showed their guts were just fine.
Brooklyn pulled out a come-from-behind 112-107 victory over Philadelphia before a crowd of 17,086 at Barclays Center.
Down by 14 — and eight in the fourth quarter — they used an 11-0 run in that final fateful period to grind out a victory they had to have.
“[I was impressed with] their resilience,” interim coach Kevin Ollie said. “We talked about that earlier. Philly came out and they were up by about 14 points and we just dug in, stayed together, stayed connected, challenged the guys in our pregame walk-through that we need to stay together, connectivity. And they did that.
“Nobody was pouting over there. Nobody was pointing fingers. We just hunt better when we’re in a pack and not individuals. I’m gonna keep saying it like a broken record, we hunt better when we’re in a pack and we stayed in a pack.”
The 76ers didn’t have Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey, but the Grizzlies were missing their top five players on Monday and the Nets still gave away that one. And Brooklyn, which had come in a horrid 2-7 on the tail end of back-to-backs this season, was trailing by eight with just 8:24 to play.
But the Nets’ movement got sharper, their defense got tougher. And thanks to 11 unanswered points and a late-game defensive stand, they got the victory.
“Just defensive plays, defensive wins. Playing aggressive and decisive. June [Dennis Smith Jr.], [Dennis] Schroder, them two guys really get it going on the defensive side and it kind of picks us up. Dorian [Finney-Smith] did a terrific job on both ends of the floor as far as all the little things. Probably he didn’t get enough
Schroder had 20 points and eight assists, Finney-Smith added 20 points and eight boards, and Brooklyn shot 58.8 percent in the fateful final period.
Lonnie Walker, who got pulled out early and challenged by Ollie to lift his defense, came back in and finished with not just 19 points and 4 of 6 shooting from deep, but a stunning plus-29 off the bench.
All while being questionable on a sprained ankle.
“Understanding that capability. I don’t like to make excuses on myself. My father always said never show a man weakness,” Walker said. “So when I go on that court I’m not trying to play slow or seem like I’m injured or whatnot. Just trying my best to put it to work.”
And when it was over, the Nets (25-37) had stayed 2 ½ games behind Atlanta for the final play-in spot in the East.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 30 for shorthanded Philadelphia, which fell to 35-26.
Finney-Smith’s 3-pointer off a Smith feed gave the Nets a 23-21 edge with 4:12 left in the first quarter. Then the offense disappeared.
Brooklyn went scoreless for the next 5:36. They went without a basket for the next 7:25.
Philadelphia reeled off 12 unanswered points, Kyle Lowry’s pull-up 3 leaving them in a 33-23 hole. They wouldn’t score until Schroder hit from the foul line 1:24 into the second quarter.
By the time rookie Jalen Wilson finally put back his own miss, they had missed 13 straight and committed five turnovers.
The deficit reached 92-84 with 8:24 left before the Nets rallied and 11 unanswered gave them the lead for good.
Granted, Smith and Schroder each made just one of two at the free throw line, leaving them knotted at 92-all. But Claxton threw down a dunk off a Schroder feed, got fouled and calmly converted the and-one for a 95-92 lead with 5:44 to play. The Nets never trailed again.
After a Oubre hook, Smith swiped a Lowry pass intended for Tobias Harris, and went in for a breakaway dunk to make it 97-94 with 4:26 remaining.
Nic Claxton (17 points, 10 boards) blocked Oubre and Finney-Smith’s 3-pointer on the other end gave them a 106-100 cushion with a minute and a half in regulation.
