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 The veteran forward scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth
quarter and added a critical steal in the final minute to help lead
the Brooklyn Nets to a 102-98 win over the Golden State Warriors
Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
The Nets (14-21) extended their winning streak to a season-high four
games, while the Warriors had their 10-game winning streak snapped.
"Offensively and defensively he has been off the charts," Nets coach
Jason Kidd said of Garnett. "Defensively, he has been incredible for
us since that Oklahoma game (Jan. 2). He looks like he's 25 and
tonight, offensively, he looked like he was 21."
The 37-year-old Garnett said it was a simple case of Kidd calling
plays for him with the game on the line.
"I work on my craft every day so I expect it to be a certain way so
when I go to dial it up I want her to pick the phone up," said
Garnett, who scored in double figures for the sixth time this
season. "Tonight I dialed and she was right there like she was
supposed to."
Garnett's biggest play defensively came with the Nets clinging to a
96-93 lead with 12.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Guard Stephen Curry, who seemingly has unlimited range, had the ball
in his hands with a chance to tie. But he faked a shot and attempted
to pass to forward Andre Iguodala. Garnett got into the passing lane
and stole the ball.
"I was just playing defense, man," Garnett said.
He wasn't the only one.
Guard Shaun Livingston had four steals, including a strip of
Iguodala with 49.9 seconds left in the fourth. After Golden State
(24-14) knocked down six of its first seven attempts from 3-point
range, the Warriors were 3-of-18 the rest of the way.
"It's a long road trip, but we can't let that be an excuse for how
the game ended," Curry said. "We have to find a way to win and there
were a couple of turnovers at the end of the game and they had about
three or four possessions in the fourth quarter where we made them
take tough shots, but we just couldn't get the rebound."
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Curry led the Warriors with a game-high 34 points, while
adding seven assists and five rebounds, and guard Klay Thompson
added 14 points and five rebounds. The NBA's highest-scoring
backcourt (42.5 points per game) shot a combined 16-for-40 from
the field.
Forward David Lee had 20 points and center Andrew Bogut had 10
points and nine rebounds for Golden State, which fell just short
of tying a franchise record for consecutive wins and was unable
to complete a 7-0 road trip, which would have set an NBA record.
"The history that we're chasing after is bigger than a
seven-game road-trip record for wins," Warriors coach Mark
Jackson said. "You move ahead. You make the proper corrections.
We look forward to taking care of what we didn't take care of
tonight."
Nets guard Joe Johnson scored 27 points, including going 6-of-6
from the foul line in the final minute. Forward Andray Blatche
came off the bench to score 17 points, Livingston had 13 points,
including the go-ahead free throw with 1:12 left in the fourth,
and forward Paul Pierce had 11 points for the Nets, who host the
defending champion Miami Heat Friday night.
"We just want to continue to finish up this homestand," Pierce
said. "That's the last team — the best team in the NBA in my
opinion until somebody knocks them off. It's another challenge
for us. We've just got to stay humble, keep building on what
we're doing right now and continue to defend."
NOTES: Golden State coach Mark Jackson defended first-year Nets
coach and close friend Jason Kidd in his pregame media talk,
making a veiled reference to the alleged spat between Kidd and
former assistant coach Lawrence Frank that led to Frank being
reassigned last month. "I cannot speak about Jason Kidd and
Lawrence Frank because I do not know it, but everybody has to
know who's in charge and that's the head coach," Jackson said.
"He's the guy calling the shots. I've never seen any of the Pips
try to lead. That's Gladys' role. Let Gladys be Gladys." ...
Nets G Deron Williams missed his second straight game, and 13th
overall, with a sprained left ankle. ... The Warriors return
home for a pair of games, beginning Friday against the Celtics.
... The Nets close out a four-game homestand against the Heat on
Friday night.
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