The Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-108 on Monday at Barclays Center, and with their first victory since Feb. 22, the NBA’s longest active losing streak was snapped at seven games.
Brooklyn is now tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the sixth-best lottery odds at 22-42.
“After losing seven in a row, it’s just good to get back to winning,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said. “It’s a good reward for the work.”
The Lakers seem to retain defensive intensity regardless of who’s available. Even though LeBron James, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jaxon Hayes and Rui Hachimura were sidelined because of injury, they strapped the Nets in the first quarter, limiting them to 6-for-19 shooting.
Gabe Vincent poured in 13 points in a first quarter where the Lakers outscored Brooklyn 28-16.
However, the second quarter belonged to the Nets. Trailing by 15 points with 11:25 left in the period, they battled back behind strong defense and 16 combined points from Cam Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe.
Johnson’s 26-footer put Brooklyn up 48-47 with 1:06 left in the first half, which at the time was its first lead since it was a 7-5 game in the first quarter. The Nets, who ultimately went into halftime with a one-point advantage, outscored Los Angeles 32-19 in the second quarter.
Brooklyn matched its best second quarter of the season with that plus-13 edge. It also had a plus-13 point differential in the second quarter of Saturday’s 105-102 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
“A little bit more attention to detail on rotations and getting to those shooters,” Cam Johnson said when asked about Brooklyn’s defensive adjustments between the first and second quarters. “I think they started off really hot, making a lot of 3s. I think we did a good job of trying to limit that… but in the process of kind of speeding them up, forcing turnovers and getting out and running.”
Next, the Nets opened the third quarter on an 11-4 run to go up 59-51. The scoring burst was sparked by seven quick points from Keon Johnson, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Monday.
Brooklyn led by as many as eight points in a third quarter where it shot 52.4%, but the Lakers had a 5-0 edge in second chance points and a 7-5 advantage at the free throw line. It added up to a one-point Nets lead entering the final frame.
The Nets also surrendered three straight 3-pointers to Vincent, Luka Doncic and Dalton Knecht over the final 2:29 of the third quarter.
A Noah Clowney 3-pointer, followed by a Clowney steal and Johnson transition slam, gave Brooklyn a 92-85 lead with seven minutes left. This time, the Nets held on after blowing a 17-point lead two nights ago. D’Angelo Russell’s second 3-pointer put them up 104-98 with 1:31 left.
That six-point cushion late proved to be just enough for Brooklyn to escape victorious. Donic somehow cashed a 35-footer with 10.6 seconds left, which made it a two-point game.
The Nets committed a season-low seven turnovers against the Lakers.
“That’s elite,” Fernandez said.
Cam Johnson and Keon Johnson were Brooklyn’s most productive starters, finishing with 18 points each. The Nets had a 48-26 advantage in bench points, led by Clowney (19 points) and Tyrese Martin (14 points). Martin reached double figures as a scorer for the third time in his last five appearances.
“Knowing that there aren’t very many restrictions, like, [Jordi’s] not coming in the locker room telling you, ‘No, you don’t get to shoot that, you don’t get to do that.’ It allows us to play free and confident. We just make plays for each other. We know what we want to do… I think that’s good for our confidence and how we played down the stretch.”
Doncic and Austin Reaves shot a combined 11-for-40 from the field, finishing with 22 and 17 points, respectively. Brooklyn, which shot just 41.1%, turned 15 Lakers turnovers into 19 points while limiting them to 43.5% shooting.
The Nets will return to action on Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.