By the Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Spencer Dinwiddie and the Brooklyn Nets didn’t sound bothered that a team that hasn’t won in almost a month took them to overtime.
Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie (8) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball (2) and guard Jrue Holiday (11) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. The Nets won in overtime 108-101. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
They were more gratified to know their defense could bail them out on nights when shots aren’t falling.
Dinwiddie scored 31 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat New Orleans 108-101 in overtime on Tuesday night, extending the Pelicans’ franchise-long losing streak to 13 games.
“I know I sound like a broken record, but it’s the same old thing,” Dinwiddie said. “If we can hold a team to 100, then we have a chance to win.
“Tonight, we were pretty bad offensively,” he added.
Joe Harris scored 24 points as he and Dinwiddie scored more than half of the Nets’ points on a night when they shot 41.7% (40 of 96) and missed 28 of 39 3s.
“The shots will definitely come. We’ve just got to continue to be aggressive,” Harris said. “Sometimes you’re going to have a couple of games — a stretch — where you might be off, but what’s important is that the defense has been constant throughout. That’s something that’s really encouraging, that when you can play that solid defensively and give yourself a chance to win.”
Harris curled to the right wing on a play drawn up out of a timeout, received the inbound pass and immediately pulled up for his fifth 3 of the game to put Brooklyn ahead 104-98 with 1:28 to go in the extra period.
Brandon Ingram quickly responded with a 3, but the Pelicans, who missed 71 of 108 shots on the night, got no closer.
“The guys, they are still competing and playing hard,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. “This was probably our best defensive game against a team that’s really a good offensive team. … I didn’t think we got discouraged. I though we played. I thought we battled. We just came up short.”
Ingram had 22 points and 10 rebounds but missed 10 of his first 11 shots before scoring all but two of his points after halftime. Jrue Holiday scored 21 points for the Pelicans, who kept the game competitive despite shooting 34.3% and missing 29 of 40 from 3-point range.
Jarrett Allen had 12 points, 14 rebounds and tied a career-high with six blocks for the Nets, who’ve won five of seven.
“It was an ugly game,” said Allen, whose transition dunk to tie the game at 93 in the final minute of regulation. “I don’t know how we pulled it out.”
No team led by more than eight points in a game with 14 lead changes and 13 ties.
Brooklyn looked primed to take control when Taurean Prince scored his first points of the game on a transition 3 with 2:53 left in regulation for an 89-83 Nets lead.
But the Pelicans quickly responded with Holiday’s layup and Lonzo Ball’s 3, then took a 93-91 lead when Holiday was fouled while attempting a two-handed dunk that rolled in off the front rim.
Holiday and Dinwiddie both missed 3s in the final half-minute or regulation.
“They’re going to break their streak. We’re just happy it wasn’t against us,” said Nets guard and former LSU star Garrett Temple. “For us to be in OT after shooting the way we did against a desperate team like that on the road, we felt good that we were going to be able to close them out.”
Source: Manila Bulletin
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