The Brooklyn Nets made a late game push behind the scoring and defensive efforts of Caris LeVert to overcome a 16 point deficit and beat the Miami Heat, 101-95, last Friday night.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak at the Barclays Center.
It was the same story for Brooklyn as they continued their inconsistent play to start games. In the first quarter not only did the Nets shoot 35.3 percent from the field, but they also had seven turnovers.
To add to the damage of their offensive woes, was the Nets inability to control the boards. While the box score showed that both teams were even on the glass, Brooklyn still allowed Miami to get 8 second chance baskets in the first quarter.
Hassan Whiteside also dominated the paint with 11 of Miami’s 14 points in the paint, once again exposing the Nets lack of size and rebounding.
While the Brooklyn squad shot better in the second quarter, it was still more of the same turnstile defense that allowed Miami to score 29 points in on 55.6 percent shooting the second quarter, finding themselves down at the half for yet another game.
“We struggled big in the first half, we did not look great,” said Nets Head Coach Kenny Atkinson, who focused more on how the Nets managed to get back into the game.
It was in the third quarter that the Nets (17-29) finally found their rhythm on both ends of the floor to defeat the top 10 defensive ranked Miami Heat (26-19).
Midway through the third quarter, with the Nets trailing 66-51, Atkinson decided to go with a small lineup bringing in Quincy Acy and LeVert from the bench, in an attempt to space the floor offensively, but also giving the Nets the quickness to disrupt Miami’s offense. The adjustment worked, as Brooklyn held Miami to 16 points off 22.7 percent shooting from the field in the third quarter.
“That kind of changed the game,” said Atkinson about going with a smaller lineup and the defensive impact of Acy and LeVert. “We made plays [offensively], but more importantly we got stops and we really locked down defensively.”
But it was in the fourth quarter where Brooklyn really found their footing, as LeVert shined offensively, shooting 66 percent on 4-of-6 from the field after only scoring two points in the first three quarters. LeVert finished the game with 12 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
“His energy, his energy on offense and defense, it changed our approach in the game, because at the point we were stuck in the mud,” said Atkinson, about LeVert’s fourth quarter surge. “I can’t give him enough credit.”
Atkinson also went with a combination of LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored 8 of his 15 points during the Nets fourth quarter comeback. The Nets have rarely used the two guards in late game situations, but against Miami it gave Brooklyn much needed ball movement during their run and threw the Heat’s defense off-balance.
With under two minutes to go, both guards made huge baskets to maintain the Nets lead – a driving dunk by Dinwiddie and Levert a driving layup against Miami’s defensive star center Hassan Whiteside (22 points, 13 rebounds).
DeMarre Carroll also came through during the Nets win with a game leading 26 points and 6-rebounds. The veteran guard finished the game shooting 9-of-12 from the field and hit all three of his free throw attempts.
D-LO Returns to Action
The Nets walked away with another victory on Friday night with the return of starting point guard D’Angelo Russell, who missed 31 games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after an injury during the Nets’ 114-106 loss against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 11 in the fourth quarter.
Last night Russell only added one-point on 0-for-5 shooting, two-assist in 14 minutes, but played for most of the third quarter during the Nets’ 14-0 run that cut the Nets’ 16-point deficit to two. Although it seems like an unimpressive night from Russell, there seems to be no pressure for him to come back and contribute immediately the way he did prior to the injury.
“We just expect him to do what we do, you know be competitive defensively, share the ball obviously and hopefully make some shots,” said Atkinson before the game.
Before the injury Russell was averaging 20.9 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 46.3 percent from the field.
