A game like this, well, it’s a pretty nice one to put in the books. A big early lead. A little threat, nothing to make the game too close, but a fresh reminder of what works and what doesn’t. A big finish. And ultimately, a 118-107 win for the Brookyn Nets over the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center.
It was a day on the schedule that didn’t start with the best news. Guard D’Angelo Russell, injured in last Saturday’s loss at Utah and sidelined since, underwent an arthroscopic procedure to remove a “loose body” in his left knee, and general manager Sean Marks offered no timetable for his return.
Things got better once the ball went up, and 3-pointers started splashing and Spencer Dinwiddie, starting in Russell’s place, had his latest career night.
“I didn’t do any thing different because of his surgery,” said Dinwiddie. “I’d like to think that we won for him though, because our heart goes out to him as our teammate and our brother. We feel for him in this time. A lot of us have had injuries and surgeries.”
From third to second to first on the point guard depth chart following the injuries to Jeremy Lin and Russell, Dinwiddie has been turning in starter-quality play since opening night. More than once, he’s taken it a level higher.
That was the case against the Jazz, as Dinwiddie scored a career-high 25 points while shooting 9-of-14 overall and 6-of-10 from 3-point range. He had eight assists against zero turnovers, and even picked off five rebounds.
It was the fifth time in 14 games this season that Dinwiddie has gotten to the final buzzer without turning the ball over. He has 14 turnovers total, and came into the game second in the NBA in assist to turnover ratio.
“He’s not a high risk taker,” said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. “He’s, I would say, cautious. But as he’s getting more confidence he’s making the passes, still getting the assists. There’s some guys that don’t turn it over, but they don’t get assists either. So he’s really doing a very good job of balancing that.”
“I think I’ve just been fortunate enough to to make the right reads, the right guesses,” said Dinwiddie. “I feel like when you’re out there it’s a series of educated guesses and so far I’ve been able to make some good ones. But the tide can turn at any time, so I’m just blessed and extremely fortunate with the opportunity.”
It was late in the first quarter that Dinwiddie teamed with an influx from the bench to put the Nets in control of the game. They were down 20-17 when Allen Crabbe and Dinwiddie hit threes. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made one-of-two from the line. Dinwiddie fed Caris LeVert for a 3-pointer, scored on a drive, then busted inside on a hesitation move and set up a crashing Tyler Zeller for an inside basket.
Two Joe Harris 3-pointers made it a 20-2 run and the Nets were up 37-22. They stretched their lead to 65-49 at halftime with their highest scoring half of the season.
“I think our bench really came in and really gave us a big boost at the end of the first quarter,” said Atkinson. “That was where we got our separation. They came in with great energy. I think Caris and Joe and that group, Tyler Zeller, did a really good job. Good job defensively protecting the rim. Gave us a physicality, this team’s a physical team, typical Utah team. They screen you and they’re strong. I thought overall we were ready for the physical challenge.”
The lead shrunk to 89-80 going into the fourth quarter after Utah knocked down two threes in the final minute of the third.
“The first half was fantastic,” said Atkinson. “It was flying around. I thought we really, and I told the guys, the second half we regressed. We can’t afford to do that. We really got into isolation ball. It’s not our game. First half I give us and second half I probably give us a C in terms of ball movement.”
But the Jazz didn’t get any closer. DeMarre Carroll’s 3-pointer midway through the fourth had Brooklyn back up by 15 and the Nets kept up their big shooting night from beyond the arc to close the game out.
“Those leads can go two ways,” said Atkinson. “They can go to 15 or it can go down to five and then you’ve really got a tight game. We got Spencer back in there. That was important, get us organized, get us stabilized. He did a great job there of getting us back to where we needed to be.”
The Nets finished up shooting 46 percent on 3-pointers, making 17-of-37 as part of an overall 50.6 percent shooting night. Crabbe had 18 points and Carroll had 17.