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Nets, Lopez come up short in final seconds; fall to Warriors in OT, 107-99

By Anthony Puccio
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Nets and Warriors are having two very different seasons. The Nets rank at the bottom of the league, while the Warriors are the NBA's best and perhaps the best team today's generation has seen. You wouldn't have known from watching Saturday night.

Despite the absence of Klay Thompson, despite career nights from Thaddeus Young and Jarrett Jack, and despite a gritty fight from the lottery-bound Nets, the defending champs won their 11th straight of the season, 107-99.

It was much closer than expected. The Nets led 77-70 heading into the fourth quarter. The teams exchanged buckets the last few minutes of the game, but unlike last time the two teams played, it was the Warriors who came up with the big shots that ultimately won them the game.

Here's how the final minute transpired:

- With 40 seconds left down one, the Nets missed and Golden State grabbed the rebound, but Thaddeus Young came up with a HUGE steal. Jarrett Jack ended up at the FT line, as the Nets took a 95-94 lead.

- Steph Curry missed the following layup, but the Nets were called for an 8-second violation.  The refs missed an irate Lionel Hollins jumping up and down trying to call a timeout. One of many missed calls from the refs in this game.

- On the next play, Jarrett Jack deflected Steph Curry's pass and the Nets took a three-point lead with nine seconds left.

- Andre Iguodala nailed a three on the next play with six seconds remaining. Tie game. Why wouldn't the Nets foul? (See below)

For the second straight night, the Nets were tested in the final seconds. Last night they failed. Tonight they failed.

Jack missed a contested jumper from the corner but Steph Curry tipped it out of bounds. The Nets had possession under the hoop with .5 seconds left. Brook Lopez (18 points, nine rebounds) was spoon-fed a WIDE-open layup under the hoop, but somehow, some way came up short and the game was headed to overtime.

As you figured, the Warriors went wild in the overtime period while the Nets grew stagnant. Golden State finished with a 10-2 advantage and went on to win by an 8-point margin.

Heartbreaking.

The Nets looked good from the start of the game. They went up by as many as 15 in the first quarter, then 17, marking the largest deficit Golden State has faced all season. It was all behind the lead of Thaddeus Young, who scored 14 points in the quarter -- finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds on 12-of-22 shooting.

In his return to Golden State, Jarrett Jack was scorching. He finished with 28 points and nine assists in 44 minutes. His former teammate and friend, Stephen Curry, dropped 31 points on 13-of-31 shooting. The Nets held him to just 5-of-16 shooting from three.

Hefty minutes

Lionel Hollins clearly wanted this one. On a second night of a back-to-back, Brook Lopez (42 minutes), Jarrett Jack (44 minutes) , Thaddeus Young (39 minutes) and Joe Johnson (41 minutes) all played 35+ minutes. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson played 32 minutes as well, and finished with seven points and 13 rebounds. He hit three mid-range jump shots which was an encouraging thing to see.

Struggling Joe Jesus

Joe Johnson finished the night with five turnovers on 3-of-12 shooting. Joe doesn't have much lift under his shots, and because of so, the Nets' offense is suffering. He typically holds the ball much longer than he should and the ball movement pays the price. Potentially one of the many reasons the Nets went 2-of-16 from three.

Defending against the top three-point shooting team in the league, it probably would've been smarter to foul  instead of giving them a chance to shoot a three. Hollins claims he wanted them to, but they didn't. Miscommunication doesn't help your case in taking down the champs.

The Nets fall to 1-9 on the season. They come home to play Atlanta on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center.

For more on the Golden State Warriors, check our friends at Golden State Of Mind.

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