Game 9 Recap: Lakers 95, Nets 90. The One Where D'Antoni Made His Debut

It was easy to tell that Deron wanted to win last night's very badly. The Nets probably would have if he could have hit a few more shots.

If a moral victory is actually a legitimate thing, then the Nets probably had one last night against the Los Angeles Lakers. A win in the standings? Something they did not have. However, Brooklyn showed that they could match up with and compete with one of the NBA's premier teams in the Lakers by coming back from an early 10-point deficit right off the bat to take the lead throughout much of the second half, just to slowly lose it late in the fourth quarter.

The Nets certainly looked outmatched in the beginning moments of the game, as they committed four quick turnovers in the first four minutes, pressured by the hounding Los Angeles defense. It was surprising that the Lakers--in the debut of new, solely offensive-minded head coach Mike D'Antoni--played so well on the defensive side of the court early on but the turnovers could also be attributed to a Nets squad that was rushing in their sets, making boneheaded and lazy plays, and simply playing like the New Jersey team, one prone to countless amounts of inept stretches of basketball. After a timeout by Avery Johnson, though, Brooklyn came back with a purpose and rattled off eight points in a row to come within two. The game stayed close throughout the rest of the first until Kobe Bryant hit three jumpers in a row to expand the LA lead to six points.

Then, in the second quarter, the Lakers' main weakness was shown as their bench promptly coughed up their lead and the Nets got hot from the field, scoring 34 points in the period to go up a point at half. As usual, the Nets' "bench mob" or "Brooklyn Zoo" (credit Twitter for both awesome nicknames) picked up the slack, with C.J. Watson hitting a few threes, Andray Blatche hitting a few shots in the lane, and, of course, Reggie Evans rebounding nearly everything in sight. Solid second quarter performances also came from starters Brook Lopez and Deron Williams.

Game 9 Preview: Brooklyn Nets (6-2) at Los Angeles Lakers (5-5)

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When: 10:30 pm; Tuesday, November 20th, 2012

Where: Staples Center; Los Angeles, CA

TV: YES Network
 
Tonight, the Nets look to extend their improbable five-game winning streak against the far-and-away toughest team they have faced during the span of that streak. Of course, that team is the newest NBA superteam, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets and Lakers were mentioned a lot together this summer as Brooklyn's most-prized potential catch, Dwight Howard, ended up being traded to LA after just a little too much wavering on the star center's end. Howard made it clear that he wanted to be a Net multiple times throughout the arduous and tortuous ordeal known as the "Dwight-mare". However, he made some mind-boggling decisions--and non-decisions--which led to his acquiring by the Lakers as part of a four-team deal that sent Andrew Bynum to Philly, Andre Iguodala to Denver, and Arron Afflalo to Orlando, along with some other pieces of course.

The Nets were so close to getting Dwight at multiple times throughout the wooing process that many with the franchise were ready to give Brooklyn a point guard-center pairing for the ages, D-Will and Dwight, but it was not meant to be. That means there will certainly be players in tonight's contest playing with a little edge on their shoulder, with a little more hustle. Like Brook Lopez, whom the Nets were ready to ship to Central Florida for Howard, or even MarShon Brooks, another rumored asset offered by Brooklyn to Orlando. And even the two main players in the scenario itself, Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. D-Will had his own decision to make this summer--Dallas or Brooklyn--and he chose Brooklyn, somewhat assuming that he would have Howard to play with at Barclays Center when the season tipped in November.