The Brooklyn Nets have found their rhythm at the right time and surged into the playoff picture with their recent run.
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In a crucial meeting on Tuesday night between two teams fighting for the final playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn recovered from a blown lead to defeat the Indiana Pacers 111-106.
The Nets came out ablaze and took an early 33-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, but let their guard down and were outscored 39-24 in the second period, clinging to just a 57-54 lead at halftime.
With heavy playoff implications on the line, Brooklyn held off Indiana in the second half for their fourth straight victory.
Shout out to my man Brook Lopez for that game winner on the Knicks and for killin it in fantasy recently. Belated happy birthday to him.
— Benedict Carrillo (@bscarrillo427) April 2, 2015
“It’s just a mentality, I guess, sense of urgency,” point guard Deron Williams said. “Realising we have a chance to make these playoffs and we’re just trying to make a push.”
Jarrett Jack added: “We’re fighting for our postseason lives, and guys are coming out and making the most of it.”
After dropping five straight in early March, the Nets have come together and won eight of their last 10. The stretch of strong play has vaulted them into the eighth seed in the East, just a half game behind Miami for seventh and ahead of fellow hopefuls Indiana, Boston and Charlotte.
“We’re more together,” Brooklyn coach Lionel Hollins said. “We care more about each other. When you have adversity, you just pull together and keep fighting.”
Central to the Nets’ turnaround has been their improvement and balance on offence. Despite averaging 97.7 points per game for the season – good for 22nd in the NBA – Brooklyn have crossed the century mark six times in the last 10 contests, including three consecutive after the win over the Pacers.
A significant reason for the offensive efficiency has been simply holding on to the ball. The seven turnovers against Indiana marked the sixth straight outing in which the Nets didn’t lose double-digit turnovers.
While centre Brook Lopez has been the go-to scorer during the four-game win streak with averages of 27.0 points and 58.0 per cent shooting, he’s received plenty of help.
Brooklyn have had at least four players score double figures in each of the four contests, with the production coming from both the starters and bench.
There’s no doubt Brook Lopez is carrying his team to the playoffs. What a player! He has been playing amazing basketball @BrooklynNets
— Jo (@JoakimMitchell) April 1, 2015
“I think the ball is just moving really freely the past number of games,” Lopez said. “You can see everyone is really comfortable on the court and we’ve been gelling and playing well together.”
With the final match-up of the season series against Indiana in the books, the Nets have no more head-to-heads remaining with the teams chasing them in the East.
Six of Brooklyn’s remaining nine games come at the Barclays Center, where they actually have a worse record (15-20) than they do on the road (18-20).
