Nets put it together on both ends, end 11-game losing streak

By Bob Considine, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday January 27, 2010 11:16PM

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (NBA.com exclusive) -- There was something in the air that said this could be the Nets' night.

Before the game, the bus containing most of the Clippers and coach Mike Dunleavy was stuck in traffic and arrived only 45 minutes before the tip. Meanwhile, in the Nets' locker room, there was Trenton Hassell joyously hooting and hollering that a couple of talking heads on the TV screen were predicting the Nets would actually win against Los Angeles.

And there it was at the IZOD Center -- a complete and convincing 103-87 victory for the Nets on Wednesday night.

Yes, it was rare, as New Jersey snapped an 11-game game losing streak to improve to a still perplexing 4-40. But no, it really wasn't something mystical or magical.

The Nets' first victory in 2010 was born out of good, old-fashioned aggression on the defensive end, holding Los Angeles to 42 percent shooting. And the rest fell in line.

Nets forward Kris Humphries recorded a career-high 25 points to go with his eight rebounds off the bench. Keyon Dooling scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to hold off a Clippers run. And Brook Lopez added 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

The result was something quite different than the Nets' last 11 games, seven of which were lost by an average of 21.7 points.

"I told the guys that they would win when they decided enough is enough," Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. "It mattered enough to them."

"Everyone was engaged in the game -- even the guys on the bench wearing suits," Dooling said. "There was a lot of positive energy, something we haven't necessarily seen lately. The easy thing to do is to sulk and point the finger, and we kind of fell victim to that. Tonight, we came out of that. And we can build from that."

The Clippers seemed primed for a bad start after their bus affair. They had lost nine of 10 in New Jersey. Marcus Camby left the game in the first quarter with bruised ribs and did not return. Chris Kaman did finish with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while shooting guard Eric Jordan, who had missed the last three games with a sprained toe, returned for 12 points.

In the midst of an eight-game road trip, the Clippers admitted this loss stung.

"Words can't even describe it," Baron Davis said. "This was a game we needed to put ourselves in a good position."

"No offense to the Nets, you know, but a team with three wins is not a team you're supposed to lose to," Kaman added.

But the Nets were looking at the start of this four-game homestand as a definite opportunity to reverse their losing ways and derail their dubious path toward the worst record in league history, the 9-73 mark set by the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers. The Clippers, now 20-25, seemed like a good start. Next up for New Jersey are the Wizards (14-30), Sixers (15-29) and Pistons (15-28).

"You need this because you hear a lot of the same things: 'We've got to compete. We've got to do this, we've got to do that'," said Humphries, who connected on 10 of 14 shots. "If you never get a positive result, it makes it difficult to continue to say certain things and try to do certain things.

"For us we're just trying to build on this and know it's not a surprise. We have very capable players in this locker room. When we're aggressive and we play hard, we can win."

The game started off quite auspiciously for New Jersey, as it led by seven points early in the first quarter despite missing its starting backcourt of Devin Harris (sore wrist) and Courtney Lee (oral surgery) . It was the Nets' biggest lead in five games.

They opened it up in the second quarter to a 46-30 edge -- their biggest lead in 12 games, or since their last win -- a 104-95 decision over the Knicks on Dec. 30.

Humphries, who was acquired from Dallas on Jan. 11, was 4 of 4 in the first half and followed with nine more points in the third quarter. But the Clippers were determined to keep it close, tying the game at 53-53 midway through the period and trailing 71-64 heading into the fourth quarter.

With the Nets holding on to a 79-74 edge midway through the fourth, Dooling scored six points on an 8-0 run to put his team up by 13. Seldom-used rookie Terrence Williams put the exclamation point on the game with a tomahawk slam with one minute left. He finished with nine rebounds, eight assists and seven points off the bench.

Said Dooling: "If you play hard, play the right way, the basketball gods will reward you."

• Clippers: Griffin, Skinner, Telfair
• Nets: Harris, Lee

• Clippers: Kaman
• Nets: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: IZOD Center, New Jersey, NJ
• Officials: #15 Bennett Salvatore, #11 Phil Robinson, #61 Courtney Kirkland
• Attendance: 9220
• Duration: 2:11