The Nets were in grave danger of losing consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 9, but they overcame a 14-point first-half deficit with a tough defensive effort in the third quarter when they forced nine Knicks turnovers and allowed only 21 points to climb back into the game on their way to a hard-fought 114-112 victory Monday night at Barclays Center.
Kyrie Irving led the way for the Nets (35-16), who had trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half, with 40 points and seven assists, and the Nets won without James Harden, who played only four minutes before aggravating the right hamstring tightness that caused him to miss the previous two games.
The game was tied at 91 early in the fourth quarter when the Nets put together a 11-3 burst to push their lead to 102-94 on a bank shot by Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot with 6:58 left to play. The Knicks cut that margin to one point, but the Nets responded with another 7-0 surge, including five points from Jeff Green for a 109-103 edge with 3:11 to go.
But the Knicks came back to tie it at 112 on a three-pointer by Alec Burks with 25.5 seconds left. Green hit a couple foul shots at the 3.7-second mark to restore a two-point Nets lead before Julius Randle missed a jumper that would have forced overtime.
Green totaled 23 points for the Nets, Joe Harris added 16, and they outscored the Knicks (25-26) on second-chance points, 26-2. R.J. Barrett topped the Knicks with 22 points, Reggie Bullock added 21, and Randle had a triple-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists.
As per usual, the Nets were short-handed going into the game. Kevin Durant (strained hamstring) missed his 22nd straight game, Blake Griffin (left knee rest) was rested in the second game of a back-to-back set after playing in Sunday’s loss to the Bulls in Chicago. Tyler Johnson (right knee soreness) and Landry Shamet (sprained right ankle) also sat out.
The good news for the Nets was that Johnson’s injury was not as serious as feared. "It looks like it won’t be a long-term thing," Nash said of Johnson’s injury. "We were fearful with the nature of a non-contact injury, but we’re going to put him in a rehabilitation program. It should be a two-to-three-week thing likely, so we’re encouraged there."
From late in the first quarter into the second period, the Knicks put together a 14-2 run that included five points from Derrick Rose to give them a 41-33 lead. The manpower shortage was such that Alize Johnson, who recently signed his second 10-day contract, scored six straight Nets points to cut their deficit to three. They briefly regained a one-point lead, but the Knicks unleashed a 17-2 run that included a trio of threes by Bullock for a 67-53 lead that shrank to 67-57 at halftime.
The Knicks led by as much as 13 in the third period, but the Nets forced nine turnovers in the quarter and closed it on a 14-2 run that included six points from Green to take an 89-88 lead to the fourth quarter.
