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 On Sunday night against his former team, it was apparent that
Thornton did not necessarily need to know them all. According to his
head coach, Jason Kidd, there was one he has down pat.
"It's called shoot it."
Thornton scored 27 points off the bench, helping the Nets beat the
Sacramento Kings 104-89.
"Hey, they went in. I mean, if I'm open, I'm going to shoot,"
Thornton said. "Once shots start going down, you have teammates out
there finding you out there. It makes it much easier to go out and
shoot the ball."
The Nets (31-30) won for the fifth time in six games. Since Jan. 1,
Brooklyn is 21-9.
Thornton shot 11-for-15 from the field, including 5-for-8 from
3-point range. He was acquired by Brooklyn in a trade that sent
forward Reggie Evans and guard Jason Terry to the Kings on Feb. 20.
"It's always fun to play against your former team and to see your
teammates," Thornton said. "My job was to focus on getting this win
and we did."
Nets guard Joe Johnson provided scored 18 points on 7-of-12
shooting, while guard Deron Williams added 10 points and seven
assists.
"Joe was great," Kidd said. "I thought he set that tone in the
second half. We played through him, he was being aggressive when
scoring the ball and also finding open guys."
After a frustrating first half, the Kings started to move the ball
effectively to complement their hard-nosed style of play, erasing a
16-point deficit. Using their strength and size down low to open up
the Nets' defense, the Kings (22-41) opened the second half on a
17-6 run to tie the score at 57.
"I don't think we were ready to play tonight," Kings coach Michael
Malone said. "Once again we continue to beat ourselves on the road."
The Nets answered with a 12-4 run in the third before blowing it
open, outscoring the Kings 47-32 in the last 19:13 of the game. Nets
center Jason Collins did well to shut down Kings leading scorer
DeMarcus Cousins to spark the third-quarter surge, but Sacramento's
center had a big night, recording 28 points and 20 rebounds.
"It's a game of runs and they made a run," Kidd said. "Our guys
didn't panic. They continued to execute the game plan."
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Brooklyn began the night without forward Kevin Garnett, who missed
his fifth game in a row due to back spasms, and the Nets quickly
lost another veteran presence. Guard Paul Pierce left the game a
minute in after he aggravated a right shoulder injury that was
hampering him for the past three games. He did not return to action.
"It's never easy to win in this league," Kidd said. "You'd like to
be healthy, unfortunately injuries are a part of the game and our
theory is next guy up. We've been very fortunate to have guys step
up for us with those guys out."
Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko and Kings guard Rudy Gay left the game
for good in the third quarter, each picking up ankle injuries. Gay
finished with 20 points.
The Nets, who have experienced both fast and slow starts in recent
weeks, opened the game on a 17-4 run.
"It was very important for us to get this lead and get going early,
especially against this team," Thornton said. "Shots were going down
and that was enough to win."
The quick lead coupled with a stifling defense gave Kidd a chance to
rest his starters as his side carried a nine-point lead into
halftime.
"We were able to cut it to nine at the half, which was a gift,"
Malone said. "Because it was not a nine-point game if you watched
that half."
NOTES: The Nets reached the .500 mark last week for the first time
since Nov. 5, when they were 2-2. ...The Kings began play Sunday 15
games out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Their record
would have left them four games out in the East. ... Three
Sacramento players — G Isaiah Thomas, F Rudy Gay and C DeMarcus
Cousins — average at least 20 points per game. However, no other
King averages more than 10. Cousins began the night ranked fifth in
the NBA at 11.5 rebounds per game.
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