For the second straight game, the Nets found themselves tied going into the fourth quarter. And, for the second straight game, the Nets shut down their opponents in the fourth, and came away with a 98-85 victory over Portland at Barclays Center heading into tonight’s showdown in Brooklyn against the Knicks.
“It goes to show that when it comes time to buckle down and get stops, we can make something happen,” said Joe Johnson, who finished with a game-high 21 points and added four assists. “We just have to try to do that in the first three quarters, and not just in the fourth.”
Like they did in Friday’s win over the Clippers, the Nets (8-4) dominated the Trail Blazers in the fourth, outscoring Portland 28-15, holding the Blazers to 6-for-14 shooting and forcing them to commit seven turnovers.
But the Nets also got the job done offensively late, shooting 50 percent in the fourth and picking up assists on nine of their 11 made baskets while committing just two turnovers.
The offensive effort, in particular, was spearheaded by Deron Williams, who hit his only shot of the quarter — a 3-pointer off an assist from Johnson with 2:36 remaining that gave the Nets a 92-80 lead — and also dished out four assists while not committing a turnover.
Williams finished with 15 points, 12 assists and a career-high four blocked shots going up against Blazers rookie point guard Damian Lillard — whom Portland took with the sixth pick in the draft, a pick they acquired from the Nets in exchange for Gerald Wallace at the trade deadline in March.
“It’s great to have the weapons, to have the options out there on the floor,” Williams said. “The floor is so much more spread out. We’re getting better at spreading the floor, and it’s just easier to operate out there.”
It looked like the Nets could be in position to cruise to a win when they jumped out to an early lead behind an incredibly hot start from Johnson. He made five of his seven shots in the first quarter and finished the first half 8-for-12 from the field for 17 points.
“It’s always great when you can get into a nice rhythm early and get going a little bit,” Johnson said. “It makes the game come so easy, because you’re able to get other guys involved because there’s so much attention on you, and today in the first half was one of those feelings.”
But even with Johnson’s hot shooting, the Nets were unable to create any separation after they jumped to a 14-5 lead, and actually wound up trailing at the end of both the first quarter and at halftime thanks to poor offense as a team.
Outside of Johnson, Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries, who combined to go 15-for-22 from the field, the Nets shot a dismal 3-for-21 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the first half. That left the Nets trailing a Portland team that was without its best player in All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who sat out with back spasms.
“I sensed a spirit of urgency [in the fourth],” Nets coach Avery Johnson said with a smile. “It’s the type of spirit we just didn’t have, especially midway through the first quarter and on through the rest of the first half. So we visited about it at halftime. I told them I refused to go crazy or use bad language, but I was really disappointed with our defense in the first half.
“But they responded. These guys, they really care about each other, they care about winning, and they really clamped down defensively in the second half, and it was fun to watch.”
Now, sporting a 6-1 record at home and seven wins in their last nine games, the Nets turn their attention to tonight’s showdown with the Knicks, as the first regular-season game between the new crosstown rivals can finally take place.
“I’m sure it’ll be a hostile environment in here for them,” Joe Johnson said. “I think it’ll be fun. Everybody’s been waiting for this moment, and we’re gonna come out and try to protect home court.”
tbontemps@nypost.com