NBA

Nets defeat Clippers on Farmar’s late 3-pointer

In their final season in New Jersey, the Nets have delivered few memorable moments at Prudential Center.

But the Nets made up for it last night — and then some — when Jordan Farmar took a pass from Deron Williams and drilled a wide-open 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.2 seconds remaining, giving the Nets a thrilling 101-100 win over the Clippers to snap their seven-game home losing streak.

“Jordan made probably the biggest shot this year for us,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said. “The way this win happened was perfect.”

Farmar’s shot finished off a wild second half, one that saw the Nets lead by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before the Clippers began slowly chipping away.

In fact, the Clippers never led in the second half until Chris Paul was fouled by Shelden Williams while coming off of a screen with 8.9 seconds remaining. The point guard made a pair of free throws to give the Clippers a 100-98 lead.

But then, after the ball went out of bounds off Paul’s foot with five seconds remaining, Deron Williams drew a double-team off the ensuing inbounds pass before firing a perfectly placed bounce pass to Farmar for the game winner.

“They were always cheating over towards Deron, taking his space away,” Farmar said. “He just bounced it to me in the perfect spot. … I was a little deep, but I just wanted to see the rim and follow through.”

A raucous sellout crowd of 18,711 was given a real show by both teams, as the game got intense and physical in the second half. As he usually does, Blake Griffin had his share of high-flying dunks for the Clippers, connecting on a pair of alley-oops as well as an impressive reverse slam over Kris Humphries.

But as the Clippers slowly fought their way back into the game, the Nets’ inside combination of Humphries and Shelden Williams kept the home team in it.

The pair combined to score 14 consecutive points in the fourth quarter before Farmar’s game-winner, and both finished with double-doubles — 15 points and 10 rebounds for Humphries and 12 points and 11 rebounds for Williams.

“We played well for the full 48 minutes,” Shelden Williams said. “For us to continue to be able to fight down the line when they came back … it was a special thing for us, especially for us to win at home.”

The Clippers vaulted into contention in the Western Conference shortly after the lockout ended, when they completed a blockbuster trade to acquire Paul from New Orleans. It’s the same transformation the Nets hope to undergo either by next Thursday’s trade deadline, or in free agency this summer — acquiring Dwight Howard and pairing him with their own superstar point guard, Deron Williams.

But for one night, at least, the Nets felt what it was like to be in a playoff atmosphere, and they enjoyed it.

“It was a big part of our victory tonight,” said Deron Williams, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and 10 assists. “There was a different feeling, a different energy in the building tonight. It was something we haven’t had in awhile.”

It’s something they hope to have more of soon.