NBA

Pierce rips into Nets despite win over 76ers

Sometimes, simply winning isn’t good enough.

That was the case for Paul Pierce Monday night after the Nets managed to snap their three-game losing streak with a 108-102 victory over the 76ers at Barclays Center.

But a much-needed triumph wasn’t enough to satisfy Pierce, who wasn’t happy with the way the Nets played — and particularly with the way the team’s short-handed bench did — and wasn’t shy about saying so.

“You know, a win is a win, but you can’t be happy with the way we closed the game,” Pierce said. “We gave up lay-ups, 3’s … we were up 19, and let them back in the game a couple times in this game.

“If we play like that come Thursday [against the Spurs at home], then we can’t expect to walk away with a win. There’s a lot you can learn from a win, and today we learned something. When you have a team on its back, put them away when you can.”

Pierce has a point. Both at the start of the game and the start of the second half, the Nets (21-25) went on big runs — 16-2 and 24-10, respectively — to blow open the game and seemingly put away the hapless Sixers (15-34).

But, both times, Philadelphia managed to claw its way back against the Nets’ reserves, which were significantly weaker than normal because of the absence of Joe Johnson (right knee tendinitis), Andray Blatche (bruised left hip) and Andrei Kirilenko (sore right calf).

That nearly came back to haunt the Nets in the fourth quarter, when they let what was a 19-point lead early in the third dwindle all the way down to two twice in the fourth quarter, including when a James Anderson 3-pointer made it 97-95 Nets with 22.9 seconds left.

Unlike last week, when they gave away a game to the Raptors in Brooklyn, the Nets managed to hang on after Pierce and Shaun Livingston each hit two free throws in the game’s final seconds, but Pierce felt the game never should have gotten to that point.

“I think our bench has to play better,” Pierce said. “Even though we were short-handed tonight, that means an increased role for a lot of different people. Once the subbing and guys who usually don’t play a lot get their role, they have to be ready.

“I think that was a big difference right there. I think our starters did a great job, but once we substituted the bench has to be ready to sustain a lead or push it. … We can’t give up big leads like that.”

Still, even with Pierce’s valid criticisms of the Nets’ performance, they managed to come away with the win thanks to strong showings from Pierce himself, who led the Nets with 25 points, including going 14-for-14 from the foul line, along with 21 points and six assists from Deron Williams and 13 points, six rebounds, eight assists and seven steals for Livingston.

It also didn’t hurt the Sixers committed 26 turnovers that led to 32 Nets points.

“The guys are executing the game plan,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said of the team’s defensive effort. “They are helping each other, they’re active, and that’s what helped us win this game tonight.

“We had active hands, deflections, steals, and that means everybody is in tune defensively.

“In this league, you can play great defense and still be scored on, but if you can get some deflections and kind of disrupt [opponents’] rhythm, that can help you get a win.”

Now the Nets head into the five-game stretch before the All-Star break playing only once against a team above .500 (the Spurs) — a stretch Pierce sees as critical.

“We’ve got to be ready to close out before the All-Star break on a run,” he said. “Our goal is to try to get to .500 or better. I’m not sure how many games we’ve got left, but this is a big test for us trying to bounce back, especially coming off a 3-game losing streak.

“This is a big test for us.”