The Brooklyn Nets could not hold off the fourth-quarter charge of Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 114-112 loss at Barclays Center Wednesday night.
George capped a 25-point fourth quarter with the game-winning 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining.
Leading by as many as 23 points in the third quarter and 20 in the opening minute of the fourth, the Nets were outscored 39-19 over the final quarter and dropped their eighth straight game despite a huge shooting night from 3-point range.
Allen Crabbe made 7 of his first 11 3-point attempts and finished 7 for 13 from beyond the arc while scoring 22 points. Joe Harris, back in the lineup after missing three games with an adductor strain, had 19 points, shooting 3-for-4 from 3-point range, with seven rebounds. Spencer Dinwiddie and D'Angelo Russell each had 17 points and Jarrett Allen had 15. The Nets shot 15-for-36 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range.
With a second-quarter blitz, the Nets built a lead as large as 19 points and rolled into halftime leading 62-46.
Things started to turn for Brooklyn midway through the first quarter. Trailing 18-14, the Nets outscored Oklahoma City 31-10 over an 11-minute span in pulling ahead 45-28.
Leading 26-24 going into the second quarter, the Nets scored the first 10 points of the quarter with Ed Davis starting the run with a rebound basket and finishing it with a dunk off a Harris drive. After Russell Westbrook scored OKC's first basket of the quarter, Jared Dudley cut to the rim for a layup and DeMarre Carroll's three-point play put the Nets up 41-26 five minutes into the quarter, riding a 20-4 run.
Crabbe knocked down two 3-pointers in less than a minute, each giving the Nets a 19-point lead, with the second making it a 57-38 game with under three minutes to go in the half. Westbrook's 3-pointer cut the Brooklyn lead to 14 points before Crabbe and Dinwiddie made free throws for a 62-46 halftime lead.
The Nets outscored the Thunder 36-22 in the second quarter, shooting 13-for-25 (52 percent) and 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range. Crabbe his four of his first eight 3-point attempts to lead the Nets with 13 points in the first half, while Carroll had 12 and Dinwiddie 11.
Brooklyn outscored Oklahoma City 13-6 to open the third quarter. Crabbe knocked down two more 3-pointers in the stretch, the second giving the Nets a 75-52 lead with 8:25 to go in the third quarter. The 23-point margin was Brooklyn's second-biggest lead in a game at any point this season.
UP NEXT
The Nets close their seven-of-eight homestretch against the Raptors on Friday. Then they have two short road trips -- at the Knicks on Saturday and at the Sixers on Wednesday.