These are the varieties of video games the Nets are going to should get used to.
The gritty, ugly, grind-it-out performances have turn into a part of the material of the id the Nets should assume in the event that they’re going to salvage the second half of what was as soon as a season with championship expectations.
That’s what it took to get again on monitor and safe a 124-123 additional time victory over Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
“Coming right into a hostile surroundings in opposition to a very good western convention opponent — it’s a testomony to our psychological toughness,” beginning guard Spencer Dinwiddie mentioned in his walk-off postgame interview.
It’s the fifth time the Nets have rallied again from down double-digits to create a single-possession sport down the stretch for the reason that commerce deadline.
And in the long run, it was protection — not shot-making — that gained a sport down the stretch.
The Nets denied Edwards a possibility to shoot on the ultimate possession of additional time. On the finish of the fourth quarter, the Nets bought back-to-back stops on Edwards — first a strip steal by Spencer Dinwiddie, then a heavy contest on a operating floater within the sport’s last possessions — earlier than dropping Naz Reid, who hit a buzzer-beating three to tie the sport at 114 and ship it into additional time.
The protection was the by line for a Nets group that fell right into a 12-point gap within the second quarter. The Nets held the Wolves to only 20 factors within the third quarter.
It was a powerful efficiency from a Nets group whose bench scored an historic 98 factors in a late rally that fell quick in opposition to the Bucks the evening earlier than.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn sat virtually each key rotation participant in opposition to the Bucks on Thursday. Jacque Vaughn sat Spencer Dinwiddie, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith in opposition to the Bucks. Mikal Bridges solely performed the primary quarter in opposition to the Bucks earlier than taking part in 47 of 53 attainable minutes in opposition to the Timberwolves on Friday.
Bridges scored a game-high 34 factors and shot 13-of-24 from the sphere and four-of-eight from downtown. He outplayed Edwards, who completed with 32 factors on 12-of-26 taking pictures and struggled to get his photographs to fall down the stretch.
Cam Johnson added 15 factors and left the sport briefly after taking an elbow to the face. Seven totally different Nets, together with all the beginning 5, scored in double figures.
Dinwiddie performed one in every of his finest video games this time round in a Nets jersey. He created Brooklyn’s last two baskets in additional time on drive and kick threes — first discovering Bridges on a 3 to tie the sport at 121 apiece, then delivering a dime to Finney-Smith, who was wide-open within the nook for the go-ahead triple.
The Nets then compelled the ball out of Edwards’ fingers on the sport’s last possession.
Veteran Wolves guard Mike Conley had his side-step three blocked on the buzzer.
The Nets have now gained 4 of their final 5 video games and journey to Denver on Sunday to tackle the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and a Nuggets group anticipated to come back out of the Western Convention as championship contenders.
After struggling on the highway, the Nets have gained three of their final 4 video games in opponent territory.
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