The Nets were impressive defensively in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s 86-76 win over the Clippers, holding L.A. to 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting, as well as forcing the visitors into eight turnovers.
It was such an impressive defensive performance, in fact, it ranks as the best individual defensive quarter the Nets have had since Avery Johnson took over as coach before the 2010-11 season.
“For this year, easily,” Johnson said. “And, since we’ve been here, the best fourth quarter defense we’ve ever had.”
Johnson knew that because of a defensive rating system he has devised that breaks down the team’s defensive performance — finishing a quarter with a 60 rating is excellent. Friday, the Nets finished the fourth quarter with a 73.
“A 60 is great,” Johnson said. “A 73 is way off the charts.”
* Rookie forward Tornike Shengelia will miss the next two games with a sprained left thumb.
Shengelia, who has been inactive several times this season, suffered the injury working out after being one of the two inactives in Friday’s win.
“[He was] just working out and kind of jammed his thumb,” Johnson said. “The X-rays were negative, but he’s really, really sore. So we’ll treat him for the next couple of days, and Tim [Walsh, the Nets trainer] says even if we needed him right now, he would be out for a couple of days.”
Johnson said Shengelia will sit out today against the Trail Blazers and tomorrow night’s showdown with the Knicks before the team will reevaluate him again on Tuesday before the Nets leave for Boston, where they face the Celtics on Wednesday.
* With Shengelia and fellow rookie Tyshawn Taylor getting minimal playing time thanks to the presence of so many veterans on the roster, Johnson also said the Nets have a plan in place to send both players to the Nets’ D-League affiliate, the Springfield Armor, later this season.
Johnson said that they likely will begin to enact that plan starting early next month, after the Nets return from their upcoming three-game road trip this week to Boston, Orlando and Miami.
He also indicated Shengelia would be the first of the two rookies to head to Springfield, because Johnson would prefer to keep three point guards on the roster.
* Portland’s rookie point guard, Damian Lillard, was acquired with the pick — No. 6 overall — the Nets sent to the Trail Blazers at the trade deadline in March, along with Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams, in exchange for Gerald Wallace. The Nets also used a trade exception created in that deal to execute a sign-and-trade for Reggie Evans in July.
Lillard has been terrific in the early going, averaging 20 points, three rebounds and six assists for Portland, including scoring 28 and dishing out eight assists in Friday’s 103-95 win over the Timberwolves.