NBA

Teletovic’s 24-point 2nd quarter lifts Nets over Mavericks

When asked about what it’s like having so much space to shoot, Mirza Teletovic had a simple answer Friday night.

“There’s a lot of open space when you have so many shooters … [with] Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson standing on the court, they’re like, ‘OK, let’s leave this guy from Europe. Maybe he won’t make it,’ ” Teletovic said with a smile.

After his performance against the Mavericks, it seems unlikely Teletovic will be left open again anytime soon. He lit up Barclays Center in the second quarter Friday night, scoring 24 points on 9-for-11 shooting on his way to a career-high 34 points that lifted the Nets to a 107-106 victory over the Mavericks in front of 16,110.

“Mirza carried us tonight,” said Kevin Garnett, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. “When he came in, he definitely gave us a different spark tonight, and we all were excited for him.”

Following a flat first quarter offensively, in which the Nets (19-22) went 8-for-20 from the field — including 1-for-9 from 3-point range — and missed many open shots, coach Jason Kidd decided to go with Teletovic at the start of the second quarter. After Teletovic knocked down the first shot of the quarter — a 3-pointer off an assist from Deron Williams — he was off to the races.

All told, Teletovic made his first seven shots — including five from 3-point range — before finally missing a contested 15-foot jumper. Then, in case anyone was worried about him getting cold, Teletovic knocked down another 3-pointer before hitting a contested jumper over Dirk Nowitzki with less than a minute to go in the second to cap his scoring in the quarter.

“Dirk is a legend,” Teletovic said. “I’ve played against him a lot of times when he was on the German national team. It’s a big honor to play against him.”

Given his performance Friday night, it’s hard to believe Teletovic didn’t play more than a bit role last season — or even that he did not play by coach’s decision in six of the first 11 games this year. After playing in a starring role in Europe for several years, he mostly had been reduced to spectator status during his first season-plus in the NBA. But that has changed since injuries opened up time for Teletovic in Kidd’s rotation. Once he performed well when given a chance to play, he has stayed in the rotation ever since.

“It speaks a lot about him,” Williams, who advocated for Teletovic to get time last season, said of the Bosnian power forward. “He was definitely frustrated a lot last year with his lack of playing time. Mirza’s a competitor, and he’s been one of the top players in Europe for a long time.

“It was a little hit to his ego, and he felt like he could contribute and help, so he didn’t really get that opportunity. Now that he is, he’s making the most of it, and so I’m happy for him, and I know he’s happy to be playing and contributing the way he is.”

He also has benefited from the Nets having downsized to a smaller lineup since the start of January, with either Garnett or Andray Blatche in the middle and four other players on the perimeter. That has meant Teletovic, an excellent spot-up shooter, often has found himself with wide-open looks at the basket once penetration from teammates collapses the defense.

“With some of the lineups he’s playing with, guys are drawing a lot of attention, and he’s the one sometimes who is forgotten about and he’s knocking down the open shot,” Kidd said.

“But the big thing, and he’d probably tell you guys, is that he’s not just a shooter. He can put it on the floor, he’s very athletic. … Right now he’s being recognized for his shooting, [but] he’s a basketball player. He competes, and you can see that at both ends.”

After hitting a pair of free throws in the third, Teletovic added eight points for good measure in the fourth quarter, including a tough runner off the dribble after driving past Vince Carter with 1:13 remaining that pushed the Nets’ lead back to seven at 100-93. Although the Nets nearly let the lead slip down the stretch, a pair of Andrei Kirilenko free throws with 5 seconds left put them ahead by four and put the game out of reach.

The Nets have now won four in a row and are 9-1 in January. They remain 2 ¹/₂ games behind the Raptors for third place in the Eastern Conference and first in the Atlantic Division heading into Sunday’s emotional reunion in Boston for Garnett and Paul Pierce.

“It should be fun to go back,” Garnett said, “and we’ll see what happens.”