The Brooklyn Nets missed an opportunity to notch their first back-to-back sweep of the season when the visiting LA Clippers came back to score 37 points in the fourth quarter and hand the Nets a 127-119 loss at Barclays Center.
Up by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Nets still led by 10 in the final minute of the third quarter before the Clippers pushed back to tie the game early in the fourth and take their first lead with 8:21 to go, 102-101, on three Lou Williams free throws.
The game was tied six times in the fourth quarter, but the last of those was at 110 with 5:15. The two Montrezl Harrell free throws that knotted the game there were the start of a 9-0 Clippers run that gave LA control of the game for good.
Jarrett Allen had a career high with 24 points, plus 11 rebounds and D'Angelo Russell had 23 points and 10 assists. Allen Crabbe knocked down two quick threes early to get his shooting stroke going and finished 3-for-6 from deep with 15 points. Joe Harris had 19 points and Spencer Dinwiddie added 11 points and seven assists. Ed Davis grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Nets took a 10-point halftime lead after a game that began with a rapid offensive flow. The Nets made 10 of their first 15 shots and the Clippers 10 of their first 12. Brooklyn piled up 37 first-quarter points behind Allen (13 points on 6-for-8 FG) and Russell (10 points on 4-for-6 FG).
Up five going into the second quarter, Brooklyn quickly built some separation. DeMarre Carroll knocked down a three and Davis put back a rebound for a 42-32 lead. Up 44-36, the Nets got a 7-0 burst -- the last five points coming from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson -- to stretch their advantage to 51-36 midway through the quarter.
A 10-2 run brought the Clippers within five before Crabbe knocked down two free throws and Harris hit a three to put the Nets up 60-50. They eventually took a 67-60 halftime lead, their highest scoring half of the year. Brooklyn shot 45.1 percent overall in the first half -- cooling off over the final six minutes -- and 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from 3-point range while Allen scoring 17 first-half points.
Up by 12 points on several occasions in the third quarter, the Nets were still leading by 10 with a 96-86 advantage in the final minute of the third quarter. But an 11-1 Clippers run knotted the game at 97 less than two minutes into the fourth.
UP NEXT
The Nets will go into Thanksgiving off a back-to-back in Miami (Tuesday) and Dallas (Wednesday). They'll be back in Brooklyn to host the Timberwolves for a noon start on Friday and then the Sixers on Sunday, getting a look at both ends of the big Jimmy Butler over three days.