The Brooklyn Nets hung with the Cleveland Cavaliers for 47:59, but fell 90-88 on a heartbreaking last second hook by LeBron James.
Joe Johnson hit three free throws with 14.7 seconds to play, tying the score 88-88, but the Cavaliers made their last possession count, killing the clock until James hit the winning basket with 1.1 seconds left. The loss negated a solid effort from the Nets, who led for the entire first half and also held a fourth quarter lead with five minutes to play.
“They made a tough shot at the end, but I thought we were pretty decent,” Johnson said. “It’s definitely frustrating for everybody in this locker room, because we work hard time and time again and we know we can put ourselves in position to be in the ball game or to win and we are coming up short.”
The Nets starting five came out strong, grabbing an early lead from the Cavaliers and holding it into the third quarter. Brook Lopez scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half, shooting 7-of-10, while Jarrett Jack had eight of his career-high 14 assists in the opening 24 minutes.
Brooklyn held Cleveland to 17 points in the first quarter and led 50-44 at the half, but after a slow start James (10-for-22, 26 points) and the Cavaliers started to wake up at the end of the first half, coming on at the start of the third quarter.
Kevin Love (8-of-14, 26 points) hit three straight threes in the third quarter, first tying the game at 58, before giving Cleveland a 61-60 lead – their first of the game – and re-establishing it in what became a back-and-forth dogfight for the rest of the way.
“We had a game plan, it was working, but in the third quarter we lost Kevin Love a little bit,” Hollins said. “He got hot and they kept finding him and he kept making threes. That was huge.”
The Nets did go on an 11-0 run to take an 83-76 lead, but Cleveland responded with an 8-0 run of their own to take an 84-83 lead. James hit a three, and a field goal with a foul during the Cavs run, part of a 12-point fourth quarter for the former NBA MVP. The Nets did not hit a field goal in the final 4:54, though Johnson hit five free throws.
“We had our chances down the stretch, we had our opportunities,” Hollins said. “It was a hard-fought competitive battle.”
Johnson finished the game with 17 points shooting 5-for-11 with two three’s, Thaddeus Young had 16 points and led the Nets with 12 boards, while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had a game-high five steals along with 10 boards.
The Nets are back in action on Sunday night, as they host the Detroit Pistons at Barclays Center. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.