Feisty Nets shake off injury woes to beat Golden State
Nets forward Trendon Watford, left, is congratulated by Jalen Wilson after scoring against Golden State during the second half of an NBA game in San Francisco on Monday. Credit: AP/Jed Jacobsohn
SAN FRANCISCO — The Nets were feeling high after Sunday’s emotional win in Sacramento. They somehow found an greater lift two hours south against Golden State.
Despite just 10 players available Monday night, the Nets rallied for their most inspiring win of the season. A 128-120 win over the Western Conference’s best team by record despite trailing by 18 points in the third quarter.
The Nets outscored Golden State 41-28 in the fourth and led or tied for all but 50 seconds. With no healthy centers, Ziaire Williams started at center and the wing had 19 points and nine rebounds.
Dennis Schroder had 17 points and four assists in the period. His fourth assist, a three-pointer by Trendon Watford, put the Nets (8-10) up 124-115 with 1:04 left and sent fans heading to the exits.
“It was a complete team effort shorthanded and these are amazing games,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said.
Schroder, who returned from missing Sunday’s win with an ankle injury, had a game-high 30 points. Cam Thomas had 23 points but sat the entire fourth quarter. Jalen Wilson added 18 points in a season-high 41 minutes.
“You're definitely prepared for moments like this," Wilson said. "Prepare for a situation when we're down 10, up 10 in camp. Everything we do when we're practicing is with intensity. Understand that no game is ever won or lost with a whole entire quarter left? So we just got to understand that and play the full game.”
The Nets looked dead with 7:13 in the third quarter. They trailed by 18 after a layup by Trayce Jackson-Davis put Golden State (12-5) up 86-78
Yet the Nets began to chip away against the Golden State bench. They went on a 11-0 run after Fernandez called timeout.
“We give up a layup in transition and that's right where I call the second time out," Fernandez said. "Trying to find a spark and hold the guys accountable. But they did it to each other, and they kept fighting.”
It kept going with a Schroder three-pointer that cut it to six. The Nets closed the third on a 19-6 run in the final 7:12 and trailed 92-87. Then Schroder went on an 8-0 run to open the fourth, giving the Nets a 95-94 lead with his second three of the period.
Shake Milton followed with a three after a dunk by Andrew Wiggins, pushing the lead to four. Even when Stephen Curry and Draymond Green came back, the Nets kept the lead and improved to 5-1 against Western Conference team.
It was an impressive effort given how many Nets were in street clothes. Ben Simmons (injury management), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) and Noah Clowney (left ankle sprain) were all out. Clowney was seen walking on crutches in the locker room pregame and Fernandez said the team was the Nets were awaiting results of an MRI.
Nic Claxton (lower back soreness) was also a pregame scratch. As a result, 6-9 Ziaire Williams started at center instead of his usual perimeter role.
Things got worse with midway in the first quarter. Johnson stepped on Draymond Green’s foot and grimaced while grabbing the back of his leg. He immediately checked out to be looked at on the bench.
Johnson returned with 7:22 in the second but didn’t look 100% playing the rest of the quarter. He labored when walking or running around and was slow moving on defense. He also didn’t attempt a shot and the Nets officially ruled him out at halftime
It made for a painful third stop of this four-game road trip. Adding insult to injury was Curry putting on a show in the third quarter after a quiet first half.
The Golden State All-Star fired up the crowd with a behind-the-back pass to Green for a three-pointer that made it 72-65. He then added a 33-foot three-pointer and full court assist to Trayce Jackson-Davis for a dunk.
Curry then made a 32-foot three-pointer while being fouled by Jalen Wilson. He shimmied and pointed his hands up and down while on his back before getting up to complete the four-point play.
The Nets actually came out inspired early. They raced to an 11-4 lead on the strength of starting 3-of-4 on threes. But Golden State answered with a 10-2 run to re-take the lead.
It foreshadowed Golden State’s barrage of punches in the second. A 37-36 Nets lead quickly became a 47-39 lead. With Johnson laboring, the Nets had little resistance and were outscored 37-24 in the period.
It proved moot because two quarters later, the Nets returned the favor by dominating Golden State to improve to 2-1 on this road trip.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
