Good luck to anyone trying to figure out the Nets.
After struggling all season to find traction at Barclays Center, the Nets pulled off one of their biggest victories, knocking off the Cavaliers 106-98 to keep pace in the death march for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
Joe Johnson had 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds and Brook Lopez had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Nets (31-40), who had come into the night seemingly certain of losing a game to the Celtics — who remained a half-game ahead by beating the Knicks across town — in the chase for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Instead, the Nets — who have won six of their past eight games — pulled out the improbable victory.
Despite the fact the Nets are the only team in the NBA that has a worse record at home than on the road this season, they have beaten the Warriors, Spurs and Cavaliers at Barclays Center — only further reason to question why they haven’t been able to play better in Brooklyn on a consistent basis.
“It’s a huge win for us,” said Deron Williams, who only played 22 minutes as coach Lionel Hollins once again rode Jarrett Jack down the stretch, playing him the entire fourth quarter. “We’ve talked about it a lot lately, what every game means to us, so this was a big win for us.”
It was an entertaining, but strange game, one in which both teams played poor defense. The Cavaliers, in particular, looked to be on cruise control, and LeBron James — despite finishing with a terrific line of 24 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five steals in 38 minutes — seemed frustrated with his teammates, the referees and the Nets.
“There’s no excuses,” James said, “and that team over there played better than us tonight.”
With the two teams headed into the fourth quarter tied at 79, the Nets opened the final 12 minutes with a quick 7-2 run. Bojan Bogdanovic, who finished with 18 points off the bench, capped the run with a 3-pointer that gave the Nets a lead they did not relinquish.
As the fourth wore on, the Nets went to Johnson and Lopez repeatedly in isolation sets to keep themselves in front, and the top two scoring options for the Nets came through. Lopez drew a pair of fouls in the post and hitting all four free throws. Johnson scored seven points, including a bomb of a 3-pointer from about 30 feet away as the shot clock was expiring for a 101-93 lead with 2:56 remaining that seemed to signal this was going to be the Nets’ night.
“It felt good,” Johnson said with a smile. “I wasn’t sure that it was going in, but it felt good.”
There was plenty that felt good about this night for the Nets, the latest twist in what has been a season-long roller coaster, one that has them somehow on the cusp of climbing back into the playoff picture.
Now they head into three winnable games — two at home, against the Lakers on Sunday and the Pacers on Tuesday, and one against the Knicks at the Garden on Wednesday. They likely have to sweep those if they want to have a realistic chance of making it to the playoffs for a third straight year.
“We know we are capable,” said Jack, who had 16 points, four rebounds and five assists. “We have been through a lot of difficult obstacles throughout the course of this season.“We know what it takes to be successful home and away, and we just need to do a better job of focusing in while we are in our home building, and coming out and making plays.”