Joe Johnson

The Brooklyn Nets are back. In their most impressive win of the season, the Nets went into Oklahoma City and beat the team with both the best home record and the best overall record in the NBA on the road, 110-93. The Nets rode a big 4th quarter rally to win the game after Oklahoma City tied it in the middle of the fourth. The Nets were led by their big 3 tonight: Deron Williams had 19 points and 13 assists, Joe Johnson had 33 points and 5 rebounds and Brook Lopez had 25 points and 5 rebounds. For Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook had 26 and Kevin Durant had 27, but Durant was ejected in the final moments after arguing a call with a referee. It was the first ejection of Kevin Durant’s career.

There is no question that the Nets had their best first half of the season tonight. After one quarter, Brooklyn led 33-19 and was in control of the game. The lead only got bigger in the second quarter and the Nets led by as many as 23 points. However, Oklahoma City chipped away at the lead at the end of the quarter and the Nets only led by 16 at halftime, 61-45. Third quarters this season have been horrific for the Nets and that remained true in this game. OKC got within as few as 3 points in the quarter and the Nets only led by 4 heading into the final frame.

The fourth quarter was one of the most entertaining of the year so far. All signs pointed to another blown lead and game for Brooklyn. OKC continued to chip away at the lead and finally tied the score at 85 with about 6 minutes remaining. It looked all but over for Brooklyn, who had played so well in the first half. However, the Nets ended the game on a 25-8 run, led by Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson. In the fourth quarter, there was a number of questionable calls favoring Brooklyn. After an offensive foul call on the Thunder during OKC’s final push to get back into the game, Kevin Durant received two technical fouls and was ejected from the game. After that, many boos were heard from the Oklahoma City fans.

After getting blown out in San Antonio on Monday, this was a humungous win for the Brooklyn Nets. Nobody gave them much of a chance tonight against a team that was 24-6 and 16-2 at home, but the Nets didn’t care and they played like they were the team with the better record. The biggest difference was the attitude of Deron Williams. During the recent Nets struggles, Deron’s body language on the court has been terrible and he has made a lot of excuses, from injuries to confidence. Deron showed lots of confidence tonight and he looked healthy. He also played better defense than I have seen him play all season on Russell Westbrook. Hopefully he will keep this up.

This is the kind of win that can really propel a team to have a big winning streak. Now that December is finally behind the Nets, it is time to move on in the new month and the new year.

For a box score of this game, click here. 

Player grades and notes: 

Deron Williams: A+

Deron showed up tonight for the first time in a long time and probably had his best effort of the season, especially on defense. Although Russell Westbrook had 26 points and 10 assists, he took many very difficult shots and was harassed all night long by D-Will. This led to 5 big steals for Williams. Offensively, Deron was also very good. He had 19 points and 13 assists with only 2 turnovers. He shot 5-12 from the field, not great, but good enough. In addition to his 13 assists, he had many nice passes that could have turned into assists if players like Kris Humphries could have finished layups. Deron came to play tonight.

Joe Johnson: A+

This was clearly Brooklyn’s Backcourt’s best game of the season, and Joe Johnson was obviously a big part of that. He had a season high 33, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. He was 11-19 from the field, 5-10 from 3, and 6-6 from the foul line, all very good numbers. Defensively, he was able to contain Kevin Durant when he was guarding him. JJ made lots of big shots in this game, especially big 3′s when Oklahoma City was clawing their way back into the game. He really earned his contract tonight.

Gerald Wallace: B-

Gerald Wallace did not have much of a role in the offense tonight, but defensively he was very important in stopping Kevin Durant. Although Durant had 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, he only got to the foul line 4 times and he had a very un-Durant-like 5 turnovers. On offense, Wallace only had 6 points and 4 rebounds.

Reggie Evans: C

Reggie was not very important tonight. He started, but only had 1 point and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes. He also had 3 turnovers and got blocked by Serge Ibaka many times. Luckily, the Nets didn’t really need Evans tonight.

Brook Lopez: A

Brook Lopez really needs to play more minutes. In only 29 minutes, Lopez had 25 points and 5 rebounds on 11/17 shooting. The Nets clearly play better when the ball is touching Lopez’s hands, so why isn’t he playing more? He wasn’t in foul trouble tonight at all so that wasn’t the issue. P.J. Carlesimo needs to get Lopez more minutes immediately. He is vital to the Nets’ offense.

Kris Humphries: B

Kris Humphries got more playing time tonight than he has in a long time. In 25 minutes (only 4 minutes less than Lopez), The Hump had 11 points and 7 rebounds. He was 4/10 from the field and 3/4 from the foul line. He still could have finished better on many of his shots which would have allowed him to get and-1 plays. His 7 rebounds helped.

After the Nets’ biggest road win of the season, they will be hoping to avoid a letdown or trap game on Friday when they visit the worst team in the NBA, the Washington Wizards. We will have full coverage of that game here at FRWD.

Deron Williams and Kevin Durant

The Brooklyn Nets (16-15) will play another difficult road game Wednesday night when they visit the team with the best record in the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder (24-6). After winning their first two games after Avery Johnson’s firing, Brooklyn got blown out on Monday night in San Antonio and managed to score only 73 points, highlighted by a 5-point third quarter. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, has been on a roll. They have won 3 straight games and have won 15 of their past 17, including winning their last two games by a combined 48 points.

The last time these teams met up was one of the best games of the season. Both teams were playing well at the time and OKC won by only 6 points in Brooklyn. Deron Williams had one of his best games of the season with 33 points and 7 assists, while Andray Blatche added a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 57 points and 15 assists for OKC.

However, since that game the teams have went in completely different directions and now the Nets are just trying to stay above .500. If they lose tonight, they will be a .500 team again.

As with the San Antonio game, history is not on the Nets’ side tonight. The Nets have never won in Oklahoma City (0-3) and have lost 7 straight games to the Thunder overall. All-time against the Thunder/Sonics franchise, the Nets have a .351 winning percentage and are 27-50. To make things worse, Oklahoma City has won 12 straight games at home and is 16-2 at home this year. This will be a difficult game for Brooklyn to win.

Injuries: For Brooklyn, Jerry Stackhouse is out with a sore hamstring. C.J. Watson is a game time decision but is expected to play. After missing Monday’s game in San Antonio, Gerald Wallace will be playing tonight. OKC is a young team and has no significant injuries.

Key matchups: 

Deron Williams vs. Russell Westbrook. Advantage: Westbrook

It is undeniable that Deron Williams has been playing badly this year. He admitted it in a recent interview and he thinks that it is mostly a confidence issue. However, Russell Westbrook is probably having his best season, averaging 22 ppg, 9 apg, and 5 rpg. He is a young, athletic point guard, the kind of point guard that Deron Williams can’t keep up with on defense. I expect him to have a very big game tonight, maybe scoring 35.

Joe Johnson vs. Kevin Martin/Thabo Sefolosha. Advantage: Martin/Sefolosha

Thabo Sefolosha will start, but Kevin Martin will get more minutes off the bench. Martin is averaging 16 ppg this year, not quite James Harden-level production, but still very good for a bench player, and almost as good as Joe Johnson, who is starting. Both Martin and Sefolosha are very good shooters and they will mainly beat you if you leave them wide open. The Nets’ 3-point defense actually has been pretty good this year so hopefully these two will be contained. Joe Johnson has been pretty terrible his last 5-or-so games and still appears to be in a slump.

Keith Bogans vs. Kevin Durant. Advantage: Durant

Durant is neck-in-neck with Lebron James in the MVP race and is having another spectacular season, averaging 29 ppg, 8 rpg, and 4 apg while shooting 50/40/90 from the field, 3, and free throws. Bogans probably will not be guarding him. Expect either Gerald Wallace or Joe Johnson to switch onto Durant for most of the game. He is nearly impossible to guard and he should have near 30 points tonight.

Gerald Wallace vs. Serge Ibaka. Advantage: Ibaka

Ibaka is having a very good season with 14 ppg and 9 rpg on 57% shooting and 82% shooting from the foul line (wow). On defense, he is among the league leaders in blocks with 3 per game. Expect him to get a few good blocks on Brook Lopez.

Brook Lopez vs. Kendrick Perkins. Advantage: Lopez

Perkins is a big body mainly used for defense. Don’t expect him to play in crunch time if this game is close, but it probably won’t be very close. Lopez is coming off of a bad game, but has been playing very well since Avery Johnson was fired. The Nets will need another big game from him tonight to have any chance at a win.

Prediction: Thunder 105, Nets 88. 

Expect this to be another blowout loss for Brooklyn, or should I say New Jersey with how they have been playing recently. Oklahoma City is maybe the best team in the NBA and the Nets are still in a big slump. Until Deron Williams AND Joe Johnson get out of their slumps, the Nets will be unable to beat a good team. As a Nets fan, I am just hoping that they can keep this game close.