Nets sweep West Coast trip, beating Clippers, 112-108 as James Harden. Kyrie Irving combine for 65
Harden #Harden
NETS WORLD! NETS WORLD! Party on, James! Party on, Kyrie!
James Harden and Kyrie Irving combined for 65 points and the Nets defeated the Clippers, 112-108, sweeping their West Coast road trip while extending their winning streak to six games, and improving to 20-12 on the season. Brooklyn is now a half a game behind the Sixers for first in the East.
The game featured four of the league’s most dynamic scorers in Harden, Irving, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard as the game went down to the final minute. The Nets were up most of the game, but then, their character was tested.
With 28.6 remaining, Leonard connected on a pair of free throws to tie the game at 108. On the following possession, Irving missed an ISO-three but DeAndre Jordan, who finished with his third double-double on the season with 13 points 11 rebounds and four blocks tipped the ball in to put the Nets up 110-108 with 11.8 seconds remaining.
The Clippers gave the ball to Leonard who drove down the lane and pushed off Harden to draw an offensive foul. Harden, who finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists in 41, calmly nailed two free throws to seal the win. Irving wasn’t far behind in the box score, with 28 points, eight assists, and four rebounds in 40 minutes of play.
Bruce Brown played a big role for the Nets on both ends, finishing with 13 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists, and a season-high four steals in 34 minutes.
Even without Kevin Durant for the fourth straight game, Nets finished the win shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 28.9 percent from deep while turning over the ball six times. For the Clippers, who fall to 22-10 on the season, George led the way with 34 points in 33 minutes followed by Kawhi Leonard with 29 points in 39 minutes.
The two teams opened the game easily hitting their shots but there was some early chippiness. At the 8:54 mark. Harden dribbled the ball up the court and was met by Patrick Beverley, who held Harden with his right arm beginning a small altercation. Despite the altercation, the officials did not give either Beverley or Harden, who are also former teammates, technicals.
The altercation did not affect Harden or Irving, who led the Nets offensive charge throughout the first. combining for 25 of Brooklyn’s 28 first-quarter points – marking the third time this season a pair of Nets finished a quarter of play scoring a dozen or more points. each Jeff Green scored the other three points for Brooklyn as the Nets lead 30-28 after one.
Brooklyn carried their offensive firepower into the second and the Nets increased their effort defensively, which was the difference-maker. The Nets held the Clippers to only 51 first-half points while forcing nine turnovers. Brooklyn ended the first half with a 58-51 lead, shooting 48.9 percent overall but a streaky 35.3 percent from deep. Despite closing out the first half on a strong note, the Nets lost Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot for the remainder of the game after the Nets 6’7” wing suffered a right hip contusion at the 10:31 mark of the second.
The game got even scarier in the third. The Nets defense remained strong while their offensive firepower followed, which even included a double-pump Irving dunk in transition. Following the slam, Ty Lue and the Clippers called a timeout and bounced back, pulling together a quiet offensive run but Brooklyn answered and controlled the tempo.
Aside from the Nets stellar play on both ends, Brooklyn ended the period without a single turnover and only three for the game. The Nets entered the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead.
Brooklyn did not let go in the final 12 minutes of play but the turnovers added up. The Nets turned over the ball three times in less than three minutes as the Clippers, led by Paul George, rallied back and cut the deficit to single-digits.
With just under three minutes remaining, Jeff Green took a hard hit off an illegal Beverley screen. Green laid on the court visibly in a lot of pain, favoring his right shoulder. After laying on the court for nearly two minutes, Green was able to walk to the locker room on his own power but he looked like he was favoring his right shoulder. In his post-game media availability, Steve Nash had no update on either Green or TLC but shortly thereafter, the team announced that Green had suffered a right shoulder contusion and will be evaluated on Monday, presumably in Brooklyn.
Despite the late comeback by the Clippers, the Nets held on to win and sweep the road trip. Yes, It can get even scarier!
The Film Room
Steve Nash’s ATO design has been delightfully wonderful this road trip. By my count, the Nets were 2-for-2 on scoring and/or generating free throws from sideline after-timeout sets. Much of Brooklyn’s out-of-bound work over the past week has been designed to generate perimeter shots. Here’s an example from the Lakers game.
The play begins with Timothe-Luwawu Cabarrot setting a back-screen (which faces away from the basket) for Landry Shamet. The defense, naturally, assumes that the play is set up to give Shamet an at-rim shot. But then, TLC redirects and curls around a DeAndre Jordan flare screen for the open three.
Now take this ATO against the Clippers. Same idea; one player cuts to a specific of the floor off a screen, but it’s misdirection as the set is REALLY designed for the player screening.
Joe Harris cuts from the baseline toward the top of the three-point line, right past what appears to be a DeAndre Jordan pindown. Seeing that Jordan is setting a screen for Harris, the Clipper defense naturally assumes the play is designed for Joey Buckets three-ball, and Kawhi Leonard eases up for a second while surveying the action. DeAndre Jordan, whose rolling abilities have been pretty spectacular as of late, takes advantage of this by slipping his screen to the basket. Two points, Brooklyn.
In games with playoff atmospheres like this, every possession matters.
Fast start!
It seems like every quarter, there’s a data dump from the Nets PR staff noting how this season’s Nets team or a Nets player has matched or surpassed a record set in the Jason Kidd-era. James Harden for example has now set a franchise record for consecutive games with a double-double at 12.
But here’s the one that counts…
That asterisk? Teams that got to the NBA Finals.
What’s next
The Nets are returning back to the Barclays Center as the team hosts the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The game is set to tip at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised on YES Network. Tuesday’s game will also be the first game fans will be in attendance to watch the Nets Big Three!
For a different perspective, check out Clips Nation – our sister site covering the Los Angeles Clippers for SB Nation.