Nets Fall Short Despite Late Comeback Against Mavericks

The Brooklyn Nets were narrowly beaten by the Dallas Mavericks in a matinee game at Barclays Center. Brook Lopez pioneered a late comeback for his team, but to no avail.

Joe Harris and Sean Kilpatrick were sidelined for the Nets in this one. The Mavericks, who are currently fighting for a playoff spot, came into this matchup fully healthy. This game also marked Yogi Ferrell’s return to Barclays Center after being waived by the Nets earlier in the season. He has since secured a spot in Rick Carlisle’s starting lineup.

The Nets started out the afternoon very sloppily as Dallas jumped out to a commanding lead in the opening minutes. Brooklyn started out the game shooting 1-of-5 from the field, while their opponents shot an efficient 4-of-5.

Dallas took a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter. The Nets had committed three turnovers over this time span as well. While Brooklyn was able to gain some momentum offensively as the quarter progressed, the team’s defense failed to meet status-quo. Dallas consistently shot over 50 percent from the field in the opening quarter, resulting in a six-point deficit for the Nets heading into the second quarter.

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Jeremy Lin exited the game towards the tail-end of the first with an ankle injury. He landed awkwardly on his right ankle after attempting a 15-footer. Lin never saw the court again in this contest.

Archie Goodwin saw his first court action as a Nets early in the second. He failed to make much of an impact in his limited minutes, as he only shot 1-of-3 from the field.

Dallas opened up a 17-point lead midway through the second quarter. Brooklyn seemed to be giving its new faces an opportunity as chances at victory slowly slipped away. K.J. McDaniels, Andrew Nicholson and Goodwin all saw minutes in this contest.

The Mavericks still found themselves shooting close to 60 percent as the half winded down. Harrison Barnes epitomized this efficient style of basketball, as he had 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in addition to grabbing three boards in the first half.

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Dallas flat-out dominated in the first half. They led Brooklyn, 57-43, after 24 minutes of play.

This deficit was in large part due to sloppy turnovers from Kenny Atkinson’s squad. Brooklyn had nine turnovers in the first half, and that total only grew in the third quarter of play. The Nets began heavily playing through its man in the middle, and this strategy proved to be successful in the second half. Lopez nailed a three and found the bottom of the basket on multiple chip shots out of the post to cut the deficit to five. Dallas’ three-point percentage dropped to a measly 33 percent, and its defense became extremely sloppy in the third quarter.

Lopez continued to take over the contest after polishing off an acrobatic alley-oop from Isaiah Whitehead and connecting on a long three-pointer. However, as expected, once Lopez took a rest, the entire Nets’ offense seemed to fall apart. As Atkinson and Lopez geared up for a final battle in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks led, 82-72.

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Atkinson still kept Lopez out for a good portion of the fourth quarter. The Mavericks’ shooting picked up a bit, and Brooklyn was not able to cut into Dallas’ lead. Once Lopez checked in, Brooklyn was able to make a small run, setting the contest up for a competitive finish.

The Nets went on a 10-1 run to make it a one possession game. Spencer Dinwiddie and Lopez orchestrated the comeback. Dinwiddie, in particular, had 15 points and six dimes midway through the fourth quarter.

Net-killer J.J. Barea, came alive in the fourth quarter. He took over the game in crunch time for a second consecutive time at the Barclays Center. While the Nets were able to make an impressive comeback, the team was never able to get over the hump to take the lead.

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The Mavericks took a stranglehold on the game in the final minute, and were able to walk out of Barclays Center with the victory, 111-104. Lopez was the high man for the Nets with 27 points on three three-pointers.