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Brooklyn Nets Highlights: Nets Exact Some Revenge On Cleveland Cavaliers

By Kenneth Teape

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Brooklyn Nets Highlights: Nets Defeat Cleveland Cavaliers To Keep Pace With Boston Celtics

In the midst of a heated playoff race in the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets need every win they can get. The Nets did just that Friday night, picking up an impressive win over the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers, who had won four consecutive games, that actually started a little over a week ago against the Nets. Friday, the Nets exacted some revenge on the Cavaliers while keeping pace with the eighth place Boston Celtics, who defeated the New York Knicks.

Tonight, the Nets have to look no further than their bench for getting the victory Friday. Three players scored in double figures, led by 18 from Bojan Bogdanovic, while Jarrett Jack scored 16 and Alan Anderson chipped in 13. They all did more than score too, as each grabbed at least four rebounds, while Jack added five assists and two steals, and Anderson added an assist and steal of his own to his stat line.

Even the newly acquired Earl Clark had a positive impact in his 11 minutes, scoring seven points with one rebound, assist and steal. Clark was signed as a result of Thaddeus Young’s left knee injury, and should continue to see minutes as long as he is out. If head coach Lionel Hollins is willing to throw him into a game hours after signing him to a game, he should find his way into more minutes the longer he is around.

The evidence as the bench being the driving force tonight can be seen in the plus/minus ratio, as every player who came off the bench was positive, while only one starter was. The lone starter who did was Brook Lopez, who had a strong game inside, scoring 20 points to go with nine rebounds and one steal.

Joe Johnson was close to finishing positive as well, as he finished with a -1 and scored 20 points like Lopez. It was an efficient night for Johnson, who made 7-14 from the field, including 3-7 from deep and 3-3 from the charity stripe. He also stuffed the stat sheet, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out a season-high nine assists.

The rest of the starting lineup, Deron Williams, Miles Plumlee and Markel Brown, left much to be desired as they combined for only 12 points as the bench really picked up the slack they left behind.

Another key to victory tonight for the Nets was that they held the Cavaliers’ supporting cast in check. LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love combined for 68 points on 24-48 from the field. Most nights that would result in a Cavaliers victory, but tonight they didn’t get much production from anywhere else.

No other Cavalier was able to reach double-digit scoring, as Iman Shumpert came closest with nine off the bench, and Tristan Thompson was the only other player to shoot over 50 percent.

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When the Cavaliers have success, they are knocking down three-pointers off the play of their Big 3. Friday, the Nets clamped down on the perimeter, as the Cavaliers made only 8-30 from deep. Again, the trio of James, Irving and Love were the only ones with any real success, as they combined for 5-14 from the three-point line while the rest of the team with 3-16.

The Nets needed a win in the worst way tonight, and were able to come through even without one of their better players of late in Young. The Nets will continue their homestand Sunday as they welcome in the Los Angeles Lakers. It is another winnable game for the Nets, as the Lakers need to compile as many losses as possible if they are to hold onto their 2015 first round draft pick. The Nets have a golden opportunity to move up the standings as a win Sunday should not be overly tough to come by.

Next: Are the Nets closer to a title than the Knicks?

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