Spencer Dinwiddie leads Nets with 26 points and nine assists in the win; Jimmy Butler misses jumper at the buzzer; Okafor gets first play at home

It was the calm before the “Bomb Cyclone” hit New York City. Bomb Cyclone, a new ride coming to Coney Island? No, it’s winds gusting as high as 60 mph and a bone-chilling blast of Arctic air and, in this case, on top of all that, a prediction of six to nine inches of snow. Some even joked that it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves coming to Brooklyn to beat up on the Brooklyn Nets.

At the outset, the “Tims” came into the Barclays Center having won seven of its last eight games and Timberwolves forward Jimmy Butler with a record of practically scoring at will. Butler did lead all scorers racking up 30 points when it was all said and done. Meanwhile, it has been a struggle for the Nets to win two consecutive games all season. So with a win against the Orlando Magic on Monday night, many predicted the Timberwolves would blow the Nets out of the Barclays Center.

But not so fast! Brooklyn pulled out that old-fashioned defense keeping the ‘Wolves to under 100 points, and the Nets led by 12 points at 9:43 in the third quarter. The biggest lead for Minnesota was five, and with seven lead changes, the Nets were leading by one point in the closing seconds. Although Butler took a pull-up jumper for the win at the one-second mark, he missed (hey, I didn’t say he was perfect) and time ran out on a Minnesota rebound with the score Nets 98 and Timberwolves 97.

Nets fans jumped with excitement, but the Timberwolves and their fans wondered how could Butler miss a shot that he could probably do with his eyes closed?

“Get a rhythm, rise up, shoot it like I always shoot it,” Butler explained his last shot. “Just didn’t make it. I shoot that shot a lot of times. When it leaves my hand I always think that it’s going in, this time it just didn’t. ”

“There were three options on the play and he (Butler) got it,” Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He’s got open floor, get to his spot, rise up and shoot. That’s what he saw and I thought he got a good look at it and didn’t make it. I’ve seen him make that pull up a million times. I trust him in those situations. He’s a big shot maker, he’s got good balance. The play before he back cut and got fouled on that one. You’ve got to trust that he’ll make the right decision. That’s what he saw and I was good with the shot.”

“It’s like coach said, we got the ball in the man’s hand that we wanted, got him the ball,” Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns said backing up his coach. “You know he made a play (Butler), not every day you’re going to hit that shot but you know what, we got it to the man we wanted, we got the shot we wanted, it didn’t fall. It just happens like that some days but it wasn’t Jimmy, it was all of us collectively, especially me in the first half. We just didn’t play with the energy like I told you. And that urgency that made us so great the last two wins.”

“We really just kind of need to get out of these situations honestly,” Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie said after the game. “These do or die situations. I’d rather just win the game by like 10.”

Lately, the Timberwolves have been shutting out teams in the first quarter. Understanding this, the Nets put their preparation into action.

“I think we made them (Nets’ players) aware, like this team is taking teams out here, you know 16-0, 18-0,” Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I think our guys are conscious enough and understood the importance of getting out to a good start
tonight, so, good job by our first unit. Like I said, they’ve (the Nets)been struggling in the first quarter, I think we addressed it two games ago -- our poor starts. So that was important to hold them at bay.”

“Adam Harrington did a great job with the scouting,” Dinwiddie added. “You know the last couple games he told us they’ve started 15-plus to zero and when you spot a team that many points, it’s always hard to come back, so that was something that we really didn’t want to let happen and we didn’t.”

Fortunately, the Nets put that knowledge to work because there have been far too many games where they allowed the opposing team to set the tone of the game from the start.

Oddly enough, only three Nets players scored in double digits. Dinwiddie scored 26 points and nine assists for the Nets. Other Nets players scoring in double digits were Joe Harris with 17 points off the bench, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 10 points and five rebounds.

Four of five Minnesota starters scored in double digits. In addition to Butler, Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Tyus Jones added 11 points, and Jamal Crawford chipped in 10 points.

Brooklyn’s bench outscored Minnesota 38-18.

Jahlil Okafor, who the Nets recently acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers, and is being worked into the Nets system, made his first appearance at the Barclays Center at the start of the second quarter getting a warm reception from the crowd.

“It was exciting just to be playing in front of the home crowd,” Okafor told the media after the game. “It was a lot of fun. It was my first time in a while because when I played with Philly for a long time I was in Toronto, Utah. And then when I played with Brooklyn, I played in Toronto, so to finally play in front of a supportive crowd, it was a good feeling.”

In his first play at home for the Nets, Okafor scored 2 points and two rebounds.

“I thought he was solid,” Atkinson said about Okafor getting playing time. “Understood what we’re doing. I just think it’s going to take him time. He really understood our system and was in the right place. Now our guys have got to learn how to play with him. It’s more with the chemistry with the group he’s going to be out there with when to throw him the ball, when not. When does he go pick and roll? So there’s some hesitancy. But executed our pick and roll coverages perfectly. Offensively was in the right spots. I’d say very positive.”

The Nets improved to 15-23 this season and 8-9 at Barclays Center with tonight’s win, while the Wolves fell to 24-15 with the loss. This stat alone shows that last night’s win for the Nets was huge. Additionally, The Nets improved to 10-0 this season when holding their opponent under 100 points and have now held three of their last four opponents to under 100 points.

Next up, the Brooklyn Nets will play the Boston Celtics on Saturday, January 6, 2018, at home at the Barclays Center at 6:00 p.m.

Nets beat back the Clippers with a 127-122 double overtime win; Sean Kilpatrick scores a career-high 38 points

There was no California sunshine in Brooklyn on November 29th when Los Angeles Clippers came to town. Although the weather outside was dreary, fans ventured out in the elements to celebrate Barbados Culture Night and to cheer on the Brooklyn Nets as they took on one of the powerhouses in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams entered the game looking to end their respective losing streaks, both looking for a spark to create a turnaround.

The start of the game wasn’t stellar for the Nets as they were held scoreless in the opening minutes of the game. Even though the Clippers shot 55% from the floor in the first quarter, the Nets were within striking distance trailing the Clippers by four points going into the second quarter. Brooklyn continued to trail the Los Angeles for the next two quarters, while the Clippers extended their lead to 18 points.

Would this be a repeat of the rout the Nets experienced at the hands of this team earlier in the month at the Staples Center? Perhaps that prospect was too much for the home team. Perhaps it was the scrappy never give up attitude that resides in the Brooklyn locker room. Whatever the reason, the fourth quarter saw a shift in momentum in favor of the Nets. Nets defense clamped down and a bucket by Sean Kilpatrick kicked the Nets offense into high gear. It wouldn’t be the last time an attendee heard “SSSSS K, Sean Kilpatrick” over the PA system after a made basket because Kilpatrick rattled off 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Nets center Brook Lopez contributed to the run and gave the Nets a three-point lead with little over one minute left in regulation. The never-give-up attitude wasn’t in short supply as Clippers point guard Chris Paul sank a game-tying three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in the game. Sean Kilpatrick launched a potential game-winning shot for the Nets but it rattled off the rim sending the game into overtime.

The electricity in the Barclays Center was thick, the fans were charged and chants of “BROOOKLYNN!” filled the arena. The start of overtime saw the hot hand of Lopez give the Nets the lead and the Clippers fired back courtesy of DeAndre Jordan. Sean Kilpatrick was able to slice through the Clippers defense at will. The night took an interesting turn when Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was assessed a technical foul which sent him into a rage, requiring his staff and players to restrain him and he was gifted with a second technical foul resulting in ejection. With an early exit for Doc, his team was forced to sojourn without him. Missed free throws by Isaiah Whitehead left the door open for the Clippers to tie the score and Jamal Crawford did just that.

Enter the second overtime. The crowd was still energetic as ten exhausted bodies took to the court. Brooklyn had enough spark to outscore the Clippers 9-4 leading them to victory. The Nets ended their losing streak and brought a little sunshine to their fans. Nets center Brook Lopez recognized how integral a part the fans play during the game, calling it a “symbiotic relationship, just feeding off each other.”