DALLAS — Brook Lopez had just dropped jaws — and the Mavericks — with a 38-point explosion when a veteran NBA scout made the obvious observation about the Nets center Tuesday night.
“They’re trying to trade who?” the scout deadpanned.
Yeah, you’ve heard it forever. Or at least for the past couple months. Brook Lopez is the proposed centerpiece of a deal for Dwight Howard, who in turn would be the centerpiece of the Nets in Brooklyn next season.
But in just his third game back from the broken foot he suffered during the preseason, Lopez demolished the defending champs and gave the Nets a post presence they haven’t seen since, well, last season, when they had him.
Lopez fell one shy of his career high in torturing the Mavs all night and delivered what proved to be the game-winning free throws, knocking down a pair with 42.4 seconds left as the Nets, aided by a great DeShawn Stevenson defensive play, held on for a 93-92 upset.
“Our guys have just been doing a great job on the road — they continued to do so tonight,” said Lopez, who played 36 minutes, shot 17 of 28 from the field and got the Nets off to a ferocious start when he scored 13 straight points in the second quarter to help build a 56-45 halftime lead.
“The guys got the ball to me in spots where it was just easy for me to turn, lay it up and score,” Lopez added. “And we did a fantastic job on defense.”
But never was it better than when Stevenson, who received his 2011 Mavericks championship ring before the game, smothered Jason Kidd (three points, eight assists) on the final play. Dallas (21-14) had staged a furious 13-2 rally, starting with 4:35 left and culminating with a 3-pointer by Kidd with 48.9 seconds remaining.
Lopez countered with a pair of free throws with 42.4 seconds left to put the Nets up one. Kidd then missed badly on a 3-pointer, but Anthony Morrow (15 points) turned the ball over in a trap off an inbounds.
The Mavs wanted to get the ball to Dirk Nowitzki (24 points). But Kris Humphries (10 points, 15 rebounds) was inside Nowitzki’s jersey and Stevenson kept dropping to help. Nowitzki passed to Kidd. Stevenson swiped the ball, Kidd recovered and was smothered on the shot.
“It was tough with Dirk,” Stevenson said. “I’ve seen that movie a thousand times. I got my hand on the ball and got a win off that.”
Coach Avery Johnson, whose Nets have beaten the Bulls, Knicks and Mavs in succession on the road and last night got 10 big points from 10-day contract guy Gerald Green, was thrilled with Stevenson’s effort.
“Great defense,” Johnson said. “We put him in. He was stiff. But what a great night for him to get his championship ring, being there at the end and helping us win this game.”
For a day and a half around here, all the storylines concerned Deron Williams, Kidd and Howard. Lopez changed much of that — even with a Nets defense that forced the Mavs to miss their first 13 shots of the fourth quarter.
Lopez has stated his preference: He wants to stay a Net. He wants to play alongside Howard. He wants to accept passes from Williams (12 points, 12 assists, 3-of-15 shooting). He may have to wait until summer to know his fate. The trading deadline is March 15, but the Magic may decline to trade Howard before then and wait until free agency in July.
Williams, who bought two suites for family and friends in his hometown, received a warm but hardly overwhelming reaction from the crowd at what he called his “favorite” arena. Last night, despite the Mavs, despite Williams’ leadership, the joint belonged to Lopez.
“He was a monster tonight, Williams said. “He carried us from the start of the game.”