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JACK OF ALL TRADES! Jarrett Jack Hits Game Winning Shot; Nets Win, 102-100

By Anthony Puccio
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

BROOKLYN -- The Brooklyn Nets finally got their first home win of 2015.

And it's all thanks to a game-winning shot from Jarrett Jack, a shot that helped defeat the Los Angeles Clippers at home, 102-100.

The Nets trailed 79-75 at the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter but the offense grew stagnant, as always. They were held scoreless for the next five minutes, giving the Clippers a 12-point lead with five minutes remaining.

Still, they cut the deficit down to five with three minutes remaining. They had a chance to further cut into the deficit, but Mason Plumlee missed four consecutive free throws, resulting in an eventual nine point lead for Los Angeles.

It was open basket after open basket, but once again, the Nets weren't giving up. They trailed by five after two missed free throws from Joe Johnson, but Joe grabbed the offensive board, stepped back and nailed a contested three-pointer to put Brooklyn down two with 23 second remaining.

Talk about a plot twist.

With 23 seconds remaining it was Brooklyn ball, down two. Jarrett Jack penetrated towards the free throw line, kicked it out to an open Alan Anderson --  who nailed a ridiculous four-point play to put Brooklyn up two with 15.3 seconds left. To add insult to injury for LA, Blake Griffin fouled Anderson, resulting in his sixth and final foul of the night.

On the next play, Chris Paul answered with an easy layup to tie the game at 100 apiece. Brooklyn ball, 8.6 seconds remaining.

As time dwindled down, it was a Jarrett Jack isolation against DeAndre Jordan. His eyes lit up. Jack crossed him once, stepped to the side and knocked down a clutch mid-ranger to put Brooklyn up two with 1.3 seconds remaining.

The Clippers turned the ball over on the inbound and the Nets, finally, win a home game with pride and fight, mostly thanks to Jarrett Jack, who finished the game with  a poor stat-line of six points and seven assists on 3-of-11 shooting in 40 minutes of action.

Brooklyn's hero spoke afterwards:

"They came off and switched on the pick and roll, I crossed over and got him off balance a little bit, attacked the basket and rocked it back. All I needed was a little bit of separation and when it left my hands, I knew it was cash. I would've been really upset if I had missed it."

Jack even joked with reporters after the game, saying his skipping celebration was a mock of Joe Johnson.

"I actually stole that from Joe. I actually saw Joe when he made his few game winners in a row, he would do that jump-skip thing down the court, so I was mimicking him. We call that the 1 thou-wow shuffle. You make sure you write that down! That's what it's called, the 1 T-H-O-U WOW," as he jokingly spelled it out for reporters.

That represents the vibes felt throughout the Nets' locker room after the game. Jack was feeling good, Joe was feeling good but most importantly, the Brooklyn Nets were feeling good by finally ending their four game losing streak.

Jack may have been the hero, but Brook Lopez was the anchor. The big fella scored 24 points and seven rebounds on 12-of-20 shooting. He's averaged 25 points over his last three contests, perhaps a sign that he's finally gathering his offensive dominance back after foot surgery.

The Nets as a whole shot 49% from the field and and 44% from three, four that came off the hands of Joe Johnson, who also had a big night with 22 points. Los Angeles shot 47% from the field and saw major contributions from their frontline of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Jordan scored 22 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, while Griffin finished with 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

However, Jordan was 2-of-12 from the free throw line and Mason Plumlee was 3-of-10. The two contributed to the worst free throw percentage in an NBA game at 37.2%.

In his first game since January 7th, Deron Williams scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He's been plagued by a fracture in the cartilage of his 12th rib but appeared to moving just fine. He was active throughout the game and looked confident on all of his shots, the first coming within minutes of his entrance in the first quarter.

"Happy to get out there but more happy to get a win," Williams said after the victory. "We didn't win through all of January at home so it felt really good." He continued. "It's tough when your team's struggling and you can't be out there with them; Watching from the sideline, they're practicing and playing in games. They've been battling, I thought we played really well the last few games, so it's kind of just a carry over."

Brooklyn's former 'big three' combined for 61 points on 25-of-41 shooting.

"They have been playing a lot of games. I am not talking about with us, but they have all been in big games," Hollins said. "That is part of basketball, part of competition. If you look and go back to the super bowl yesterday, it's just like when you get to those moments, the focus is higher because the competitors want to win."

The Nets face off against the Toronto Raptors this Wednesday night, and with this little bit of momentum, maybe they can earn their first win streak since January 2nd.

Quarter by quarter summary:

First quarter ... The Nets couldn't have started their shooting night on a worse note. They were 2-for-10 from the field during the early stages, and despite holding Los Angeles to four points in the first five minutes, they were unable to capitalize. Of course, things got easier for Brooklyn when they resorted to a 'hack-a-Jordan' tactic. It paid off. Jordan went 1-for-9 from the charity stripe which kept Brooklyn in the game, 22-22 after one.

Deron Williams logged his first minutes since January 7th and nailed a three-pointer at the five minute mark.

Second quarter ... After scoring 22 points in the first quarter, the Nets were in need of some offense and who else, but Mr.Ol' Reliable aka, Brook Lopez. The big fella scored 12 points in the second quarter (18 in the half) on 9-of-13 shooting. He was 1-of-1 on dunk attempts and 8-of-11 on jumpers (inside & outside paint).

Brooklyn shot the ball 44% and held Los Angeles to 39% shooting with DeAndre Jordan leading the team with nine points and eight rebounds. The Clips were also 2-for-11 from the free throw line and three-point line.

Score at the half: Nets 38, Clippers 36.

Third quarter ... The Clippers jumped out to a 13-4 start, 20-10 advantage on 8-of-9 shooting. It looked like they gained enough momentum to run away with the game, but the Nets answered back. Bojan Bogdanovic checked into the game -- Hit a three pointer, then assisted on a three pointer that tied the game at 66 apiece. Finally, to be quite frank, the Nets looked like a legitimate team. They finished the quarter 4-of-5 from three after starting the game 2-of-9.

The Clippers led, 72-70.

Fourth quarter ... The Nets trailed 79-75 at the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter but the offense grew stagnant, as always, and they were held scoreless for the next five minutes, giving the Clippers a 12-point lead with five minutes remaining.

Still, they cut the deficit down to five with three minutes remaining. They had a chance to consistently cut the deficit, but Mason Plumlee missed four consecutive free throws resulting in an eventual nine point lead for Los Angeles.

It was open basket after open basket, but once again, the Nets weren't giving up. They trailed by five after two missed free throws from Joe Johnson, but Joe grabbed the offensive board, stepped back and nailed a contested three-pointer to put Brooklyn down two with 23 second remaining. Talk about a plot twist.

With 23 seconds remaining it was Brooklyn ball down two. Jarrett Jack penetrated towards the free throw line, kicked it out to an open Alan Anderson who nailed an and-one three-pointer to put Brooklyn up two with 15.3 seconds left. To add insult to injury for LA, Blake Griffin fouled Anderson, resulting in his sixth and final foul of the night.

Chris Paul then answered with an easy layup to tie the game at 100 apiece.

As time dwindled down, it was a Jarrett Jack isolation against DeAndre Jordan. His eyes lit up. Jack crossed him once, stepped to the side and knocked down a clutch mid-ranger to put Brooklyn up two with 1.3 seconds remaining.

Final score: Nets 102, Clippers 100.

Hey don't forget, with the Nets win, you get 50% off with the promo code NETSWIN at papajohns.com!

For more on the Los Angeles Clippers, check them out at Clips Nation.

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