NEW YORK _ On Saturday in Miami, Kenny Atkinson was in a quandary after watching his team fall apart for the third straight game against a losing team and seemingly lose touch with the midseason mojo that carried the Nets into surprising playoff contention. But whatever the Nets had lost, they found it again after lineup changes by Atkinson triggered a 127-88 blowout of the Mavericks on Monday night at Barclays Center.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak in impressive fashion as the Nets (33-33) got back to the .500 mark. They led by as much as 27 points in the third quarter and then opened the final period with a 20-2 run for a 44-point lead at 119-75. They went 4-for-4 from 3-point range in that stretch as rookie Rodions Kurucs had eight of his 19 points after making his first start at power forward. Caris LeVert, who returned to the bench in favor of Allen Crabbe at shooting guard, had seven of his 18 points in that span.
DeMarre Carroll led the Nets with 22 points of the bench, Spencer Dinwiddie added 16 and D'Angelo Russell had 13 points and 11 assists. Dwight Powell topped the Mavs (27-36) with 20 points, and Dirk Nowitzki scored four points in what likely was his final game against the Nets. Defense was much improved as the Nets held the Mavs to 36 percent shooting, and 27.3 from 3-point range (12 of 45), and they had a 48-36 rebounding advantage. The Nets shot a torrid 56.5 percent from the field, including 41.5 percent from 3 (17 of 41).
Atkinson previously said he would consider lineup changes to alter the momentum of a three-game losing streak, and he followed through. Treveon Graham (back soreness) sat out with an injury and was replaced at power forward by Kurucs, but the real surprise was Atkinson's decision to move LeVert to the bench.
Atkinson also wanted to emphasize the team's commitment to driving. In that respect, pairing LeVert and Dinwiddie on the second unit made sense because both excel at getting to the rim.
"We've got to remember we're a drive team first," Atkinson said. "That's how we generate free throws. That's how we generate better 3-point looks."
The impact of the changes took hold early when the second unit entered and put together a 21-6 run that carried into the early second quarter to give the Nets a 34-21 lead. LeVert had nine points in that stretch while Dinwiddie and Carroll totaled another nine.
Russell and Crabbe both had to go to the bench early in the second quarter with three fouls, but Dinwiddie looked like his old self, scoring 10 second-quarter points as the Nets led by as much as 24 points before settling for a 65-47 halftime advantage. Luka Doncic hit a halfcourt buzzer-beater for the Mavs.
In the third period, the Nets obviously were in a good rhythm and looking comfortable with the changes. They never let the Mavs get closer than 16 points, and then put together a 20-10 surge to the end of the period for a 99-73 lead. Carroll had eight points in that stretch.
