Final: Golden State Warriors defeat Brooklyn Nets 109-102

Joe Johnson played his best game of the season, scoring 32 points and shooting 52%, but it wasn't enough to overcome David Lee's 30 points and 15 rebounds and Stephen Curry's 27 points as the Warriors swept by the Nets 109-102 in Brooklyn tonight.

The Nets started strong behind Johnson - extending an 8 point first quarter lead to as much as 13 - but the Warriors fed off the torrid pace and their transition offense helped them take a 3 point lead with 2:15 left in the half.

However, Andray Blatche (22 points, 15 rebounds) heated up and scored 9 points in an 11-0 run that was capped by Blatche draining a three at the buzzer to give the Nets a 63-55 halftime advantage.

Deron Williams wound up with 23 points and 8 assists for the game, but shot only 36% and was never able to slow down a pace that seemed to heavily favor the visitors. That brisk pace finally seemed to catch up to the Nets in the second half. Their poor shooting and turnovers led to easy baskets for the young Warriors.

"We're a team that hangs our hat on defense and we haven't been very good defensively these last three games.", said coach Avery Johnson. "We're not going to beat many teams giving up 109 points".

"We've got to do a better job of guarding penetration, pick and roll coverage", Johnson added. "We've got to get more blocked shots out of our big guys...our defense got broken down quite a bit."

Down the stretch, Lee and Curry took over - with the former crashing the offensive glass (7 offensive rebounds) and the latter scoring 21 of his 28 points in the second half - making a myriad of tough, contested shots.

"He (Curry) is one of those players who you think you're guarding him tough, two or three feet behind the line and he raises up and hits them", said Deron Williams. "He got himself going and opened the game up a little bit for them."

The loss dropped the Nets to 11-7 (7-3 at home) 5th in the East and 3 games beind the Knicks for the top spot. The Warriors are now 5th in the West, 3 games behind the West leading Memphis Grizzlies.

Quick Notes:

- A fast-paced game against a player of similar size and stature would seem to suit Kris Humphries very well, but he never got into the flow and wound up with 4 points and 4 rebounds in almost 23 minutes. The team could have used him tonight.

- The Nets were outscored on the break 24-2.

- The Nets bench was outscored 32-13. They shot 5-18.

- This marks the third straight game the Nets allowed their opponent to shoot over 50%.

For more, visit Golden State Of Mind

• Box Score - NBA.com
• Game Highlights: Warriors vs. Nets (Video) - NBA.com
  
• Block of the Night - Gerald Wallace (Video) - NBA.com
• Avery Johnson talks about the Nets' defensive issues (Video) - YES Network
• Deron Williams not being able to hold a lead (Video) - YES Network
• Joe Johnson talks about the loss (Video) - YES Network
• Nets vs. Warriors - Deron Williams (Video) - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
• Nets vs. Warriors - Andray Blatche (Video) - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
• Nets vs. Warriors - Avery Johnson (Video) - Ben Couch - Brooklyn Nets
  
• Lee, Curry make Jackson a winner in Brooklyn - Brian Mahoney - Associated Press
• Point Guards Past and Present Send Nets to Third Straight Loss - Zach Schonbrun - New York Times
• Rapid Reaction: Warriors 109, Nets 102 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Nets D goes missing in December - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
• Joe Johnson scores 32 but Nets get beat inside by Warriors - Rod Boone - Newsday
  
• Nets suffer first 3-game skid with loss to Warriors - Stephan Bondy - New York Daily News
• Old friends Jackson, Jefferson find links with new scene - Filip Bondy - New York Daily News
  
• Nets 'very disappointed' with slack effort in loss to Warriors - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• Ex-Knick Lee lights up Nets for 30 & 15 - Howie Kussoy - New York Post
• With Blatche starting, Nets search for bench spark - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
  
• Jackson back in Brooklyn as Warriors coach - Howie Kussoy - New York Post
• Brooklyn Nets Pay Big Price Defensively When Going Small - Steve Lichtenstein - WFAN
• Rapid Recap: Warriors 109, Nets 102 - Moke Hamilton - SNY
• Defense Falters Again As Nets Lose Third Straight to Warriors, 109-102 - Josh Newman - SNY
• Stephen Curry and David Lee Impressed With Brooklyn and Barclays Center - Josh Newman - SNY
• Nets lose … where’s the D?? (Video) - Pete Tenney - Brooklyn Fans
  
• When Stephen Curry & David Lee's Shot Charts Look Like This, You're Probably Going To Lose - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
• Nets sound off: "We're not the same team defensively" - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
• Steinmetz's Instant Replay: Warriors 109, Nets 102 - Matt Steinmetz - Comcast SportsNet Bay Area
• Curry's big 2nd half leads Warriors- Rusty Simmons - San Francisco Chronicle
• Brooklyn Nets Tickets - TiqIQ