With a buzzer beating jumper, Brook Lopez did more damage to the Detroit Pistons playoff hopes than any good to the bottom of the heap Brooklyn Nets, but it did provide a small feel good moment for a team that hasn’t had a lot of them this season.
Lopez, who scored 29 points to help the Nets win their 14th game this season and 5th in March (their best month this season), didn’t run the most smooth of final possession plays. Instead he ran himself into a corner, but his shot was money as time expired, giving the Nets a 98-96 win. Not just a rare occasion due to the win, but the low scoring game for a team that plays at a fast pace and offers little to no defense on most nights.
Caris LeVert scored 15 points for the Nets while Spencer Dinwiddie, playing for the injured Jeremy Lin (should be back in their next game against the Phoenix Suns), had a rough shooting performance but didn’t play badly overall, finishing with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Lin is listed as probable for the game against the Suns (Thursday) and was going through some drills before the game against Detroit. His ankle sprain doesn’t seem to be serious, and although it is yet another injury in a season marred by them for him, it’s a much smaller bump to get over than usual.
The Nets aren’t very interesting this season: Terrible teams without any future stars rarely are. That’s especially true whenever Lin doesn’t play. Not only their best player, but the only player on this team capable of creating some magic. However, a buzzer beater to ruin a team’s postseason chances is as good as it gets this year for the Nets, hoping that this offseason puts them on a much clearer path towards putting themselves back in playoff races. Very few players on the current team will actually be part of the next step of the rebuild.
