OKLAHOMA CITY — It must have been December.
The Nets who took the floor last night against the Thunder, who entered the game with the league’s best record, looked nothing like the team that slogged their way to a 5-11 record in December and saw its head coach get fired along the way.
Instead, the Nets played like a team capable of living up to owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s stated goal of reaching the Eastern Conference finals this season, as the Nets stunned a sellout crowd of 18,203 inside Chesapeake Energy Arena by coming away with a 110-93 win.
“I think this was our best win of the season, and we’ve had some good ones,” said Deron Williams, who finished with 19 points, 13 assists and five steals.
Along with Williams, the Nets got big performances from Joe Johnson, who finished with 33 points, and Brook Lopez, who had 25, in the kind of game they have envisioned their three top offensive weapons having on a consistent basis since the season began.
“That’s what we want to have happen,” said Williams, who ran the team masterfully, finishing with just two turnovers. “We had everything going tonight for us offensively. The ball was moving, we had a little bit of pick-and-roll game, we had a little bit of [isolations] mixed in there, Brook was working on the block.
“There was a good flow to the game, a good rhythm to the game, and when we do that, everybody gets involved and everybody feels like part of the offense.”
It had been quite some time since the Nets had a good win. Their last victory over an above .500 team before last night came Nov. 28 against the Celtics in Boston.
That only added significance to the victory for a team that desperately needed one over a quality opponent, especially after getting blown out 104-73 in San Antonio on Monday to cap their miserable month of December.
“We needed this win personally, especially after the outing we had in San Antonio,” said Gerald Wallace, who returned from a sore left knee that saw him miss the loss to the Spurs and finish with six points, four rebounds and two assists. “We can kind of turn this road trip around and give us a lot of confidence. That San Antonio loss took a lot out of us as a team, so just getting this win and seeing the capability of the team we are kind of helps us mentally.”
Equally important, the Nets (17-15) persevered down the stretch after the Thunder predictably fought their way back from a big early hole. The Nets, thanks to a blistering shooting performance in the first half, led by as many as 23 and headed into the locker room at the half holding on to a 61-45 advantage.
But the Thunder (24-7), led as usual by Kevin Durant, who finished with 27 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Russell Westbrook, who had 26 points and 10 assists, stormed back in the third quarter. They hit 11 of their 17 shots in the quarter to cut the Nets lead to four entering the fourth, and then tied it at 85 with 7:11 to go on back-to-back 3-pointers by Durant and Kevin Martin.
“Even when we were making baskets and they weren’t, we kept telling them there’s going to be runs,” coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “Not one run, not two, not three, but a bunch of runs, and can we answer [them].”
When it mattered, the Nets did. After the Thunder tied the game, the Nets retook the lead immediately, thanks to a runner from Johnson — who finished with 33 points, including 10 in the fourth. That sent the Nets on a game-clinching, 23-5 run, which included seven of Lopez’s 25 points.
“It’s huge [to win] anytime you play a good team, but particularly on the road,” Carlesimo said. “This is a big-time win. It’s a great, great win.”