After a lengthy All-Star break, basketball action was back with a full slate of games on Friday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers were back as well, looking to end their six-game skid against the reeling Brooklyn Nets. After a third quarter meltdown by the Lakers, Brooklyn took charge to trounce them, 114-105.

Much of the first half was a back and forth affair between the two teams. The Lakers took a 57-56 halftime lead, but everything fell apart from there. As they do so often, the Lakers came out with very little defensive energy to start the third quarter.

With Deron Williams running the show, the Nets outscored the Lakers 40-20 in the third period to grab a 96-77 lead going into the final stanza. The Nets shot 15 of 21 from the field in the third, including six three-pointers. Williams, who started in place of the injured Jarrett Jack in this one, controlled the period with his incredible passing. He dished out 15 assists to go along with 12 points in 40 minutes for the game.

After falling behind by as many as 22 points, the Lakers made a 19-4 surge late in the game to cut the deficit to seven points, but that was as close as they would get as Deron Williams stopped the bleeding for his team with a driving layup.

Joe Johnson led all scorers with 23 points and six rebounds on 6 of 11 shooting, including 5 of 7 from three-point distance. Brook Lopez registered a double-double off the bench in 33 minutes with 22 points and 14 rebounds. The three veterans, who had been mentioned in all kind of trade rumors, came up big tonight, combining for 57 points, 24 rebounds, and 15 assists.

Bojan Bogdanovic was also in double-figures with 18 points, while Alan Anderson added 14 points and six assists. Thaddeus Young made his debut tonight, scoring just eight points and grabbing four rebounds in just 12 minutes off the pine. Lionel Hollins limited Young because he may need some practice with the team before seeing full minutes.

The Lakers had balance scoring, but shot extremely poor from three-point range. Jeremy Lin led the way with 18 points off the bench. Jordan Hill made his return from a five-game absence and notched a double-double off the pine with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He shot just 5 of 15, though.

Ed Davis also had a huge game with 16 points and 14 rebounds, but he missed three costly free throws down the stretch. Robert Sacre pitched in 13 points, while Jordan Clarkson and Ryan Kelly scored 12 apiece.

Despite being one of the worst three-point shooting teams, the Brooklyn Nets hit 10 out of 21 tonight, which is a 47.6 percent clip. The Nets might be a dreadful three-point shooting team, but the Lakers three-point defense is just as awful. They keep allowing opponents to shoot over 40 percent from that distance. On the other end, Los Angeles just hit 17.4 percent of their three-point tries, going 4 of 23.

Nick Young once again continued to struggle. He has been in a major slump since the turn of the New Year. He put in five points and three rebounds on 2 of 9 shooting in 25 minutes.

Ronnie Price earned significant time on the floor, cashing in 27 minutes. Instead, Carlos Boozer and Wesley Johnson were in Byron Scott’s doghouse tonight. With the return of Jordan Hill, Scott opted to bury Boozer deep in the bench along with Johnson. Coach Scott has hinted lineup changes, so it seems like he is still mixing things up, trying to find the right combination. After the contest, Scott touched on the benching of Boozer.

“If he’s upset, he’s upset, Scott said. “But am I concerned about that? Not really. I think he’ll handle it as a professional. But if he doesn’t, that’s not going to bother me.”

Boozer also spoke of the situation. “I was just supporting my teammates. Byron knows what he’s doing. We just follow suit. We just follow what he does.”

With the Minnesota Timberwolves winning, the Lakers are now only a game ahead of them for the 14th seed in the conference. The Nets continue to push for the playoffs, as they sit a half game behind the Charlotte Hornets for the eighth seed.

The Lakers will host the Boston Celtics in their next game on Sunday, February 22nd. The Nets don’t play until Monday, when they head to Denver to clash against the Nuggets.