Recap: Nets 100, Clippers 105 – Another Comeback Falls Short at Home
Brooklyn brought more pace than they could handle in return against Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon. The Clippers quickly responded to a pushed early tempo from the Nets to gain a double-digit lead and held on in the fourth quarter, handing the Nets a 105-100 home defeat.
Despite the lethargic fans in attendance at the Barclay’s Center, the Nets offense brought the energy early on. Brooklyn’s starting unit attempted to blitz the Clippers, who are on the fourth game of a five-game road trip. The tactic backfired when Chris Paul engaged defensively and forced a trio of crucial turnovers early in the game. Lionel Hollins was forced to call a timeout after three easy baskets were created off of Paul’s defense and the Nets reverted back to walking the ball up.
This fed right into the now energized Clippers defense that looked much better given Brooklyn’s lack of success from beyond the arc. Los Angeles jumped out to a 25-16 lead and the team held its advantage with a 28-20 lead to end the first quarter.
Brooklyn made a short run with its second unit, mainly because of the no point guard lineup that the Clippers came out with in the second quarter. Paul Pierce eventually got hot, hitting 3-of-4 shots to help the Clippers counter Brooklyn’s comeback. When the starters returned, Los Angeles extended its lead and the Nets ended the half with a 57-44 deficit.
The third brought more of the same with the Clippers holding a double digit lead for the entirety of the quarter. The Nets got within two points late in the fourth by employing hack-a-DJ to slow down the halfcourt offense from LA. After missing all of their 3-pointers except one, the Nets heated up from beyond the arc while Jordan was missing free throws for LA. By hitting 4-of-7 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, the Nets made it 93-91 and kept the score close until the final minutes.
The Clippers elected to pull Jordan until the 2-minute mark when hacking was not an option. When Jordan came back into the game, Brooklyn missed five of its last seven shots. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul executed a string of pick-and-pop plays to close out the game with some key baskets.
- The Clippers racked up 12 steals as a team, including three from Chris Paul. Brooklyn’s passes were often telegraphed, allowing LA to read the passing lanes in halfcourt sets.
- Andrea Bargnani picked up 11 points off the bench with five rebounds, but this happened so his performance is void.
- Before Brooklyn hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, they were 1-of-12 from beyond the arc.
- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute started for the Clippers, played 16 minutes, and only picked up a pair of rebounds and attempted no shots.
- J.J. Redick scored 21 points for the Clippers. He also hit more 3-pointers (6) than the entire Nets roster (5).
- Two of Redick’s six 3-pointers came after being hit by Thaddeus Young in the second quarter. Young was given a flagrant-1 and Redick proceeded to hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc.
