Brook Lopez has deservedly earned plenty of All-Star consideration this season. But while Lopez’s candidacy has been based around the fact he’s one of the league’s most gifted offensive centers, it was his defense that helped save the Nets last night.
It was Lopez’s block and subsequent rebound of a Jeff Teague runner that allowed the Nets to finally slam the door on the Hawks and emerge with a hard-fought 94-89 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732 inside Barclays Center.
“I’ve been saying all year, I think he’s been playing as well as any center in the league,” said Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo as the Nets improved to 10-2 since he took over. “I don’t know another center that’s playing better than him. I can think of a couple others playing really well, but I just don’t think there’s anybody playing better than him.
“He’s done a heck of a job.”
The Nets (24-16) got what they have come to expect to be a typical night of production offensively from Lopez, who finished with 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including going 6-for-8 from the foul line. But even when the Nets signed Lopez to a four-year, $61 million deal last summer to keep him as a restricted free agent after he spent almost all of last season recovering from a pair of injuries to his right foot, his skill at the offensive end of the floor was never questioned.
Instead, many wondered if he’d ever be able to make enough strides defensively to become a player worthy of being considered among the best in the league at his position. His defense is something he’s taken the time to work on and his teammates have encouraged him along the way.
“He’s come a long way,” said Deron Williams, who finished with 24 points, seven assists and made four critical free throws in the final minute to preserve the win. “He’s had a lot of key blocks for us this whole season. Just his presence defensively [helps]. Guys are coming into the lane and he’s challenging, even if he doesn’t get a blocked shot. People see him, and he’s a big guy down there for us.”
The play of Lopez and Williams late helped secure an ugly win over the Hawks (22-17), who had snapped the Nets’ seven-game winning streak by easily handling them Wednesday night in Atlanta. Neither team played particularly well offensively last night, combining to commit 34 turnovers in the game, and both shot below 40 percent from the field in the second half.
It also was as competitive as it was ugly, with neither team holding a lead bigger than eight points in a game that included 14 ties and 18 lead changes.
“Our guys were great tonight,” Lopez said. “We stuck together and, when it came down to it, we got stops when we needed to.”
The Nets also didn’t help themselves at the foul line, where they finished the game just 25-for-38 (65.8 percent), including missing six in the fourth quarter alone.
“I think we did pretty good as far as playing together,” said Gerald Wallace, who finished with eight points and four assists in his first start since suffering bruised ribs last Friday night against the Suns. “We put ourselves in a tough situation by missing free throws in the fourth quarter, which made the game a lot closer than it needed to be.
“We made it a lot more difficult than we had to be, but it’s a good thing to see we were able to grind out a win.”