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C.J. Watson, Joe Johnson and the Nets put on an offensive clinic, drop the Nuggets 119-108

By Tom Lorenzo
Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

BROOKLYN, New York -- Andre Iguodala and Danilo Gallinari were both out for the Nuggets, while Deron Williams (ankles) missed his second straight game. Advantage, Nets? Yes, indeed.

Before the game P.J. Carlesimo said the Nets needed to limit their turnovers and slow the game down, in order to beat the Nuggets. Well, the Nets couldn't quite slow the game down since, well, they played about as up-beat and quick, offensively speaking, as they have in quite some time, scoring 72 total points between the second and third quarters, on their way to beating the Nuggets by 11 points, 119-108.

In the first quarter, the Nets did their best to limit the Nuggets on the break and forcing the Nuggets into half-court sets. C.J. Watson provided a nice spark early, stretching the offense, scoring a team-high five points, but while they were too busy trying to limit the Nuggets on the defensive side of the ball, they forgot how to play offense -- at least for a 5-minute stretch in which they couldn't find the bottom of the basket. After one, the Nuggets carried a 26-23 lead over the Nets.

Kris Humphries provided much of the offense in the first half for the Nets. He scored 10 points in 10 minutes, while the shooters helped in stretching the floor and providing space in the middle. The Nets, in fact, shot 9-of-14 from the 3-point line in the first half, and helped themselves to a 62-57 lead.

The question now became, could the Nets keep up this offensive pace, one that the Nuggets are quite comfortable playing.

Well, the Nets flipped the script a little in the third, getting out and running the Nuggets off the court. The ball movement was crisp, the defense was active and the threes continued to fall. Midway through the quarter the Nets had out-socred the Nuggets 21-8.

Watson, Johnson, Lopez and Humphries continued the offensive onslaught. After scoring 39 points in the second quarter, they went on to score 33 in the third, carrying a 95-81 lead into the fourth.

The Nuggets made a run early in the fourth, pulling to within seven with nine minutes left in the game. Carlesimo quickly called a timeout and re-inserted his starters. The score floated around in that six- to seven-point range for most of the fourth until the Nets were able to build a 15-point lead late in the quarter and walk away with the victory.

It was all about the offense.

Watson, who started for D-Will, scored a season-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting (and five threes), while Humphries finished with 14 points in 19 minutes points and Johnson led the way with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting.

Tyshaun Taylor with a career-best four assists to go along with three rebounds and six points (on two threes) in 15 minutes.

Andray Blatche left the game early in the second quarter after hurting his foot/ankle, when he landed on Kosta Koufos. He did come out and play in the second half.

For more on the Nuggets, see: Denver Stiffs

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