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Ten days ago, a brutal loss to the Detroit Pistons forced the Brooklyn Nets to refocus. Since then, the Nets have been a winning streak, the last a 109-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Brooklyn has taken a step forward to solve his defensive puzzle and is in the middle of a five-game winning streak.
“This [Detroit loss] was a soft spot for us, and it sparked conversations and a sort of re-commitment to what we’re trying to do, “Nets coach Steve Nash said.” I’m proud of how they’ve responded since, obviously we took care of business. “
The Nets’ 122-111 loss to Detroit on February 9 was ugly. But after allowing the Pistons to shoot 56 percent from the field in this game – the highest percentage of field goals they have allowed in a game this season – Brooklyn has tightened defensively. The Nets’ five straight wins mark their longest winning streak of the season.
“It’s about time we turned the corner defensively,” Irving said with a smile. “No team is going to win anything in this league if they don’t get a stoppage. It’s about time. And we’ve heard them loud and clear in the last few games.”
In the 13 games the Nets played from Jan. 16 to Feb. 9, the Nets played 85.5% of the shots in the paint, according to the Second Spectrum tracking. This ranked 28th in the NBA. Against the Pistons on February 9, Brooklyn played just 78.6 percent of the shots in the paint, their second-worst shooting percentage of all games since acquiring star goalie James Harden in a mid-trade rally. -January.
But as of February 10, the Nets are contesting 91.1% of shots in the paint – the sixth highest rate in the NBA.
“I think after our game against Detroit it was obviously a game where we really struggled on the defensive end and it was kind of, not a breaking point, but it has happened a number of times until ‘at this point, “said Joe Harris. “I think after this game the level of focus, attention to detail and intensity on the defensive side really increased.”
Brooklyn has kept their opponents under 100 three times since the Harden trade, and two of those cases have occurred in their last five games – including against the Lakers. On the other side of the ball, Brooklyn shot 18 of 39 from a distance of 3 points on Thursday and is now shooting a league-high 42% beyond the arc since Harden joined the team.
Irving finished with 16 points against the Lakers. Harris added 21 points and James Harden had 23 points and 11 assists.
“It’s scary out there when other teams are doing their best to stay in the game defensively and we keep pushing up the offensive executions,” Irving said.
He added: “We know that it doesn’t happen often when you put together a big collection of guys who have been top guys in their roles on their respective teams and you have guys coming off the bench who are top guys. starters for other teams. “
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