NBA

Nets need to work on closing touch

Nets coach Avery Johnson says his team needs to learn how to close out games.

In their first three games, the Nets allowed an average of 103 points before allowing 68 and 74 points in their last two outings — both victories. The Nets have led in all five games this season, but their record is just 3-2. And despite the 82-74 win against the Magic on Sunday, the Nets were outscored in every quarter except the first.

“I thought our interior defense was better in Orlando [Friday] than it was [Sunday] night,’’ Johnson said yesterday. “Give [the Magic] credit. When you blow out a team, they’re going to make some adjustments. Our defense broke down a little bit. But if we keep holding teams to 70, 80 points, I would think we would score enough points to win those games.”

Gerald Wallace is doubtful for tonight’s game against the Cavaliers (2-5), but he could return Thursday when the Nets host the Celtics in a nationally televised game.

Johnson said Wallace’s absence is a big blow to the defense, but the team has to learn to play without the 6-foot-7 forward, who did practice yesterday. Wallace has not played since the Nets’ season opener Nov. 3 because of an ankle injury.

“He was limited in practice. Just as much as he could tolerate, so he was kind of in-and-out of practice,’’ Johnson said. “But nothing substantial in terms of where he is ready to play in a game. We’ll see how he recovers because this is the most he has done in a while, since he has been injured.”

Wallace injured his left ankle in the fourth quarter of the Nets’ first game while trying to block a shot. Deron Williams said having Wallace in the lineup gives the defense a huge boost.

“He just does so many things for us, even things that don’t show up in the box score.,’’ Williams said “We definitely need him out there. We’ve been missing him the last couple of games.

“He’s a big part of what we want to do here, and part of that chemistry is having him out there. If it was up to him, he probably would play [today]. But he’s got to be smart about it. We want him out there as soon as possible but him getting healthy is more important.”

The big leads that have become blown leads are a concern to Williams.

“It becomes a bad habit where you are up 20 and you relax and teams come back and gain momentum while you lose momentum and you can never get it back. Mentally, you’ve got to be focused to get stops and execute,” he said.

The Cavs have allowed 100 points in each of their last six games, and tonight they will be playing the final game of their six-game road trip, so the Nets could see a repeat performance of building a big lead, which they hopefully won’t squander.

“I am really worried about us as a team, just being on the same page offensively and defensively,” Joe Johnson said. “The offense is going to come. Defensively, we can bring that every night and we just have to get back to playing great defense.”

* MarShon Brooks, who has missed the past two games (ankle), took part in non-contact drills yesterday but is out for tonight’s game.