Recap: Nets 88, Cavaliers 90 – Lebron Burns Brooklyn
It would have been a tall order for the Brooklyn Nets to go into Cleveland and be the first team to beat the Cavs at home this season. Yet with less than a minute left in the game, that result was still a possibility. That was until Lebron James had a chance to win the game in the closing moments.
The final play was set up by a clutch set of free throws from Joe Johnson, who hit three clutch shots in a row from the charity stripe after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with 15.2 seconds left. Cleveland proceeded to run a pick-and-roll for James at the top of the key. James found his way into the paint and floated the game winner over the outstretched arms of Brook Lopez. The Nets led with 1:23 left in the game, but couldn’t hold on against James’ 10 points in the fourth.
It would have been Brooklyn’s second road victory of the season, and one that seemed possible after the team’s strong first quarter. The Nets jumped out to a 19-10 lead with the starters finding easy shots in the rhythm of the offense. The quick start was mostly due to the Cavaliers shooting just 30 percent from the field in the first quarter. Lopez scored 10 quick points to help the Nets grab the early lead and he finished as the team’s leading scorer with 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
The Nets held onto a 50-44 lead at the half, but the third quarter saw the Cavs retake the lead. Brooklyn’s frontcourt struggled to guard the 3-point line, leading to Kevin Love shooting 6-of-11 from beyond the arc on his way to 26 points.
Brooklyn held the largest lead of the second half when Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 4:54 left in the game to make the score 83-76. After that basket, the Nets were outscored 14-5 to close the game out.
- Brook Lopez continued his strong play this season by scoring 26 points. The performance put him over the 20 points per game mark this season. He’s also averaging 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
- Jarrett Jack picked up a whopping 14 assists despite shooting 3-of-13 from the field. We’ve been known to give Jack a hard time here at Brooklyn’s Finest, but his passing was impressive against Cleveland.
- I’m here to confirm that Thomas Robinson did indeed play on Saturday night, but I understand if you didn’t notice. His only contribution was a single rebound in six minutes of action and that wasn’t enough to get him more playing time in the hard-fought second half.
- Thaddeus Young picked up his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
