In a must win game, the Brooklyn Nets took care of business by defeating the lowly Los Angeles Lakers, 107-99, to further their playoff push out East.
The Nets led wire-to-wire as they got off to a solid start led by Brook Lopez and Deron Williams. The two torched the Lakers defense and scored 21 of Brooklyn’s 30 first quarter points to give their team an 11-point advantage.
After that lopsided first quarter, the rest of the game felt like a roller coaster ride for the Lakers as every time they cut into Brooklyn’s lead, the Nets made a push to extend it back to double digits.
The Lakers were shorthanded once again, as Byron Scott decided to rest Carlos Boozer for a fourth consecutive game. Ed Davis missed his first game of the season as Scott opted to rest him too, while Jeremy Lin was a late scratch due to an upper respiratory infection.
However, Jordan Hill was activated for this one, and he bolstered the Lakers bench with an impressive performance. Hill notched a double-double with 22 points and a season-high 16 rebounds on 10 of 17 shooting in just 27 minutes of play.
Despite Hill’s enormous contribution, Lopez had himself quite a night, scoring 30 points and nabbing 11 boards. The Lakers seemingly had no answer for Brook Lopez in the low block, just like the game played in February when Lopez went off for 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Joe Johnson flirted with a triple-double, scoring 18 points, snatching eight rebounds, and dishing out seven assists while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Rookie Markel Brown scored a career-high 17 points while adding four assists and four rebounds. Deron Williams, who was questionable coming into the game due to an illness, pitched in 13 points, nine assists, and three steals, finishing one assist shy of 6,000 career assists.
The Nets had a very clean and efficient game, committing just eight turnovers, nine fouls, and shooting 48.3 percent from the field. No one on the team committed more than two fouls.
For the Lakers, aside from Hill, Wesley Johnson and Jordan Clarkson also played well. Johnson had 17 points and five rebounds on 8 of 16 shooting, including a handful of dunks where he blew by the defense with ease to finish at the basket. Clarkson received a ton of minutes with Lin out and added 18 points, seven assists, and six rebounds on 7 of 14 shooting.
This win was absolutely crucial for the Nets, who have now tied the Boston Celtics for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings at 32-40. Unfortunately, Brooklyn does not own the tiebreaker against Boston.
The Celtics will, however, play the Los Angeles Clippers later today, a game with huge implications.
With the win, the Nets have now extended their winning streak to three. Brooklyn also ended a long seven-game losing streak at home to the Lakers. They hadn’t beaten the Lakers at home since the 2005-2006 season. The Lakers, meanwhile, have now lost the last 12 out of 15 games and drop to 19-53 on the year.
The Nets will square off against the Indiana Pacers, another team fighting for a playoff spot out East, on Tuesday, March 31st. The Lakers, on the other hand, will immediately head to Philly to play the Philadelphia 76ers on the second night of a back to back.