CHICAGO — The last thing the Nets wanted to see yesterday was Brook Lopez on the ground reaching for his right foot.
But that’s exactly what they saw when Lopez, after jumping to contest a Carlos Boozer shot in the paint midway through the second quarter of the Nets’ 142-134 triple overtime loss in Game 4, landed awkwardly, felt to the ground and grabbed at his foot.
This time, however, it proved to be nothing but a false alarm, as Lopez remained in the game and turned in his fourth straight excellent performance of the series in his first postseason trip.
“It was all in the higher ankle area,” Lopez said after scoring 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds, two assists and four blocked shots in 51:16. “It was nothing from a previous injury.”
Lopez’s right foot is the one he injured twice last season, forcing him to sit for all but five games, and that he injured again on Nov. 30 in Boston, causing him to sit out for seven games.
But after the brief scare Lopez looked fine, and even tossed in his first-ever 3-pointer, draining a turnaround 25-footer as the clock wound down at the end of the third quarter to give the Nets an 84-76 lead after three.
Lopez said he would have be able to play in Game 5 tomorrow in Brooklyn.
“It felt a lot better as the game went on, and I got back into it,” Lopez said. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
* Two days after being a game-time decision with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Joe Johnson finished with 22 points on 10-for-20 shooting in 47:59.
Johnson, who hit a pair of shots inside the final 15 seconds of the first overtime to keep the game going, said he came through the game without too much trouble.
“I’m all right,” he said. “I’m just trying to do what I can and play through it in spurts. For the most part, I’m all right.”
He also said he definitely would be on the court for Game 5.
“I’d do anything for these guys,” Johnson said. “Whatever it takes for me to be out there on the court to help this team, I’m willing to do, so whatever I have to do the next game, I’m willing to do it.”