Brooklyn Nets: Flatbush Cuts It Close Against Clippers

From the desk: THE HOOPS OF FLATBUSH

TUESDAY

Clippers 120

Nets     124

FINAL

Nets Defense Was Good Enough, But Clutch Free Throws Seal The Deal Against L.A. Clippers.

Just when I thought I had safely buried the memory of Sunday's meltdown deep within the recesses of my brain, the fourth quarter happens Tuesday night against the Clippers ... 

This was a big game.  The Clippers arrived in Flatbush vying for the top spot in the Western Conference.  Kawhi Leonard did his thing, scoring a team-high 33 points.  Paul George also got his 26 points while Serge Ibaka secured a team-high ten rebounds.  Of course, the Clippers are intense and very disciplined on defense.  After losing the first quarter by eight points, the Nets trailed by only one at the half.  

Paul George stops Brooklyn's 13-0 run with just under four minutes left in the game.  The Nets led by six at that point.  A Paul George three-pointer with 24.8 seconds left to play brings the Clippers to within one of the Nets.

Kyrie Irving, by this time, had a game-high 37 points but, under the two-minute mark, had yet to attempt a shot.  The ball stayed in the hands of James Harden for the finish.  Despite shooting just 1/6 from the arc, Harden registers another triple-double, scoring 23 points with game-highs of eleven rebounds and 14 assists.  But he had trouble closing out the Clippers, committing a turnover, and incurring an offensive foul.

As much as anything else, free throws got the Nets through the home stretch.  It started with Harden sinking three straight free throws at the 2:36 mark.  Kevin Durant's two free throws put the Nets up by three with 9.8 seconds left to play.  Afterwhich, the ball finally made its way back into Kyrie Irving's hands, who, with 1.9 seconds left in the game, sinks two free throws to once and for all put the game out of reach.

Kevin Durant finished with 28 points and nine rebounds.  His lone attempt at a three-pointer put the Nets up by ten with 1:55 left in the game.  KD, Kyrie, and The Beard finish with 90 total points, or 72.5% of Brooklyn's scoring.  The Nets finished plus-five in rebounds and plus-four in assists but turned the ball over twice as many times as the Clippers.

All things considered, the defensive effort on this night was as good as it needed to be.

Big effort by the Big Three in a big game ... it's gonna be a fun winter.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to burying the memory of scoring 146 points in regulation time and still losing against a three-win team.