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BROOKLYN - Once again there were plenty of emotions at Barclays as Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett suited up against their former head coach, Doc Rivers, with the Los Angeles Clippers in town. Brooklyn was looking to win their third straight game as the Clippers were coming off yet another "emotional" game in Boston, with Rivers returning to his old stomping grounds.
Once again, Pierce came off the bench for the Nets, the first time in his career coming off the bench in back-to-back games. Alan Anderson picked up the start.
The Clippers got off to a hot start, exploiting the Nets deficient defense in guarding the three-point line. On the other end of the floor, the Nets couldn't get anything going offensively. The scored just six points in the first six minutes of the game.
Brooklyn shot just 35 percent from the floor in the first quarter, and thank to a 6-0 run to end the first they trailed by five, 25-20 after one.
The pace slowed down a bit for the Nets in the second quarter, which resulted in Brooklyn making a run to start the quarter and taking the lead early, 33-31. With Chris Paul on the bench, the Clippers offense went out of sync, while Pierce came in off the bench to spark the Nets' second unit. In fact it was Pierce, not Shaun Livingston, who facilitated the offense for the Nets while Williams was on the bench. To his credit, Pierce really seemed to embrace his role off the bench.
Williams started to heat up in the second quarter, scoring 10 straight for the Nets late in the second and leading them to a 56-44 halftime lead. He was, as they say, engaged. Williams scored 13 points in the first half, 12 of those coming in the second, and sparked a 46-21 run by the Nets that netted them a 12-point halftime lead.
The run continued for the Nets in the third quarter, with the ball moving inside-out, with Lopez facilitating the high pick and roll, Williams, driving and kicking to Joe Johnson, who was feeling it from beyond the arc. It was about as fluid as we've seen the Nets move offensively all season long. And in the third quarter, no less.
Credit goes to the Nets defense as well, which was fantastic. They adjusted properly, forced Paul into doubles, gave CP3 different looks by having Alan Anderson 'D' him up. Again, it was a complete performance by the Nets starters.
One scary moment in the third was when Brook Lopez tweaked his ankle, causing him to come out of the game for a brief minute before returning, followed by a trip to the locker room. Jason Kidd said Lopez suffered a sprained ankle but would travel to Detroit for Friday's game vs. the Pistons. He would make no guarantee beyond that.
Lopez downplayed the injury.
Brook Lopez says he just twisted his ankle. Unsure if he'll play tomorrow but he will definitely travel #nets
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) December 13, 2013
After three, the Nets led the Clippers 83-62. Really, aside from the first six minutes of the game and the Lopez injury scare, there was nothing much to complain about over the second and third quarters.
The key to the fourth quarter was to make sure that the Clippers wouldn't be able to climb back into this one, so that Williams could rest. Los Angeles mad a bit of a run, but not much of a serious one. They never got any closer than 9 points, and in the end the Nets pulled out a 102-93 victory, winning their third straight game.
Williams finished with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes. Pierce went for 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes off the bench and Garnett had six rebounds in 15 minutes. Blatche was brilliant as well, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Joe Johnson hit four threes, finishing with 21 points.
Lopez was diagnosed with a sprained left ankle and did not play in the fourth quarter. We'll have to keep an eye on that one.
For more on the Clippers, see: Clips Nation
- Clippers at Nets - December 12, 2013 - Box score - NBA.com
- Game Thread: Brooklyn Nets vs. Los Angeles Clippers, 8:00 PM - NetsDaily
- 2nd Half Game Thread: Nets vs. Clippers - NetsDaily
- Clippers vs. Nets: Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Deron Spins CP3 (Video) - NBA.com
- Deron's Deadly Crossover (Video) - NBA.com
- Blake's Twirling And-one (Video) - NBA.com
- Truth's Nice Dime to Brook (Video) - NBA.com
- Play of the Day - Deron Williams (Video) - NBA.com
- Steal of the Night - Shaun Livingston (Video) - NBA.com
- Assist of the Night - Andray Blatche (Video) - NBA.com
- VIDEO: BLATCHE GOES FULL BLATCHE (Video) - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Brook Lopez leaves with ankle injury vs. Clippers (Video) - NBC Sports
- Pierce, Garnett Help Nets Beat Rivers' Clippers - AP
- Nets Win Their Third in a Row Despite an Injury to Lopez - Andrew Keh - New York Times
- Doc Rivers did it his way, and now he tries to show Jason Kidd how it's done - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Can Deron Williams Rejoin Chris Paul in NBA's Elite Point Guard Conversation? - Howard Beck - Bleacher Report
- Rapid Reaction: Nets 102, Clippers 93 - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Kevin Garnett-Paul Pierce-Doc Rivers reunion has 'weird' feel - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Dominant Deron Williams crosses up Chris Paul in Brooklyn Nets win - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Starting Five: Keep Pierce on Nets' bench? - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- Kidd's tall task toward title: Emulating Doc - Ohm Youngmisuk - ESPN New York
- Led by Blatche, Nets Come Back to win - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
- Kirilenko Is Key to a Nets Rebound - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
- Williams stars for Nets in win over Clippers - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Lopez sprains ankle in Nets victory - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Doc Rivers enjoys reunion with Garnett, Pierce - Brian Lewis - New York Post
- Healthy Nets beat Clippers, 102-93 - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Nets notes: Paul Pierce a reserve - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- Deron Williams leads Nets over Clippers, but Brook Lopez exits with sprained ankle - Mitch Abramson - New York Daily News
- With victory over Clippers, Nets are finally looking like winning basketball team - Filip Bondy - New York Daily News
- Clippers' Doc Rivers reunited with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce in Nets' 102-93 win - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Jason Kidd on Andrei Kirilenko: 'There is no update' - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Nets win third straight behind improving defensive effort - Larry Fleisher - Metro
- L.A. Clipped: Nets 102, Clippers 93 (GAME GRADES) - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
- Final Score: #Nets 102 #Clippers 93 - Brian Erni - SNY Nets
- Clippers vs. Nets recap: Brooklyn keeps the momentum rolling - Matthew Tynan - SB Nation
- Nets Impressive in Win Over Clippers, But Brook Lopez Injured - Jonah Mars - From Russia With Dunk
- Nets cruise past Clippers 102-93 - Dan Woike - Orange County Register
- Clippers are emotionally spent in 102-93 loss to Nets - Broderick Turner - Los Angeles Times
- Clippers' Jared Dudley critiques his playing - Broderick Turner - Los Angeles Times