Nets give Kevin Ollie his first win as interim coach

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Kevin Ollie walked into his postgame news conference with a request to the media.

“Can we make this fast,’’ he said, “because I’m soaking wet.”

Ollie’s players doused him with water after his first victory as Nets interim head coach, a 111-86 win over the Grizzlies on Monday night at FedExForum.

“Just a great win and they got me good,’’ Ollie said. “All my other coaches left me out to dry and stayed in the back.”

He said of his first victory in three games: “I got the game ball. It will go in my office first. Definitely going to touch it and put it up for my mom in heaven and my sister in heaven. I know they were watching over me in this first win, so definitely going to raise it up and toast it to them.”

After a four-game losing streak in which the last three losses were by a combined 93 points, the Nets (22-35) had reason to be relieved.

They had 32 assists and held the Grizzlies (20-38) to a season-low 86 points, the fewest by a Nets opponent this season.

Best of all, they found their long-lost offense with efficient shooting and their first game in which they scored more than 100 points after three failures. They made 15 three-pointers and shot 48.9% from the field .

The only down moment came in the fourth quarter when Cam Thomas (14 points) left after stepping on Day’Ron Sharpe’s foot. He was helped to the locker room and ruled out with a right ankle sprain.

Thomas, who missed eight games with a sprained left ankle earlier this season, briefly had ice wrapped on the ankle and limped in the locker room. He was optimistic because this injury didn’t feel as severe. “I’m able to walk on it, so it’s not bad,” he said. “But we’ll take it day by day. It’s not as bad as last time, so I’m not really concerned.”

The Nets’ resurgence came against a Grizzlies team that entered Monday 10th in defensive efficiency. However, it didn’t take long to demonstrate why the Grizzlies are last in the NBA in scoring and near the bottom of the Western Conference.

The Nets held them to one field goal in the final 7:10 of the second quarter and led by as many as 27 in the period (and 30 in the fourth). On an inbounds play with a second left on the shot clock, Dorian Finney-Smith got a wide-open layup.

The Nets led 66-40 at halftime, prompting a fan to tell a nearby usher that he was going home. Seven Nets scored in double figures.

“They just kept believing. It’s been a couple up-and-down days, unknown days, and they just stayed together,” Ollie said. “And one thing I know about his team, they love each other. And that’s the only thing I want to see, because love can get through anything.”

Dennis Schroder, who started in place of Ben Simmons, had his best game since his debut with 18 points and five assists. Cam Johnson had his best scoring game as a reserve with 12 points and 5-for-9 shooting

Simmons was upgraded to available after being listed as questionable on the injury report Sunday. In his third game off the bench this season, he had four points, six rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes.

The Grizzlies performed as expected with six players injured, including All-Star guard Ja Morant and fellow starters Marcus Smart and Desmond Bane. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 15 points but shot 2-for-12, thanks in part to Nic Claxton’s defense.

Claxton had three blocks, his most in seven games, to go with 10 points and four rebounds.

It was the get-right game the Nets needed with a favorable schedule coming up. Starting Tuesday in Orlando, five of the next six games are against teams with under .500 records or missing their best player.

For now, they left Memphis singing a happy tune as their issues faded against a team struggling even more than they are.

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.