ORLANDO — Shabazz Napier's 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds remaining Thursday night in San Antonio kept the Nets alive and gave them one more chance -- another Napier 3-pointer that fell short at the buzzer as he drew contact on the shot -- before they fell short in a 117-114 loss.
More than a one-shot or one-game contribution, it parallels the way Napier has helped keep the Nets playing at a consistent level since he moved into a larger role with the thumb injury that has sidelined Spencer Dinwiddie.
"Shabazz has been fantastic, 24 points, 25 points," said Nets coach Kenny Atkinson before the San Antonio game on Thursday. "I don’t know how much more we can ask of him. Tenacious defense. He’s really filled in nicely so far and was a big reason we squeezed that win out against Chicago. If you don’t have Shabazz’s 24, I’m not sure you get that game."
In four games without Dinwiddie, Napier has averaged 16.7 points, including back-to-back 20-point games against Boston and Chicago. For the fifth-year-guard in his first year with the Nets, his role continues to grow. He was out of the rotation briefly in December, but stepped back in as the Nets turned to guard-heavy lineups after some frontcourt injuries.
Napier regularly played in lineups that featured him sharing the floor with fellow point guards D'Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie as the Nets embraced an attacking style with multiple -- and versatile -- ball-handlers on the floor that put pressure on defenses.
Now with Dinwiddie out, he's seeing increased minutes and more time on the ball.
"For me, it is gratifying because sometimes when you work your tail off and sometimes you're not going to play and then you get a chance to play and it doesn't really show," said Napier. "For me it's been showing and I'm excited about it because I put in a lot of work."
The 6-foot-1 Napier is no carbon copy of the 6-foot-6 Dinwiddie, but he brings his own unique strengths to the court that sets him apart from Brooklyn's other guards. "Defensively, he’s more of a pest," said Atkinson. "He forces turnovers. He picks up full court. Against Chicago, he got a big steal that was a momentum swing. I’d probably say he’s more of a pure scorer. He can score the ball. He’s like the Eddie Houses and those guys who used to come off the bench in the NBA and just light it up. He can really light it up and then provides great pressure defense."
Pressure -- attacking both offensively and defensively -- tends to define Napier's style on the court.
"For me, it's just, I know what I'm great at and I've got to just go out there and try and do it, and defensively is one of the things I hang my hat on," said Napier. "I feel as though defense comes with a lot of pride and a lot of competitiveness."
One element that Napier does mirror is Dinwiddie's ability to get to the rim -- and to the free throw line.
"I had some frustrating moments with him in terms of holding the ball too much, actually not embracing driving and quick decisions," said Atkinson. "I think the pace he's playing with now is helping him get to the rim. So he's getting out on the break with his speed and then he's getting downhill. The free throw thing, he's always been pretty good at that, and that helps your efficiency, right, getting to the line. it's an added bonus. Overall I'm really pleased."
CLUTCH GAMES
Going into Thursday's game at San Antonio, the Nets had won 12 of their last 14 clutch games -- defined as games with a margin within five points in the final five minutes -- and six straight games decided by three points or less.
But that streak came to an end in the 117-114 loss in which the Nets let a seven-point fourth-quarter lead slip away. At Friday's practice, Nets coach Kenny Atkinson mentioned the small details that he felt made a difference down the stretch.
"Sometimes made shots hide that stuff," said Atkinson. "We try to be above that and understand, so even when we win we'll show them. But last night it kind of bit us in the backside. We kind of broke down, some gritty things, the rebounding especially, then some mental mistakes and transition defense and man-to-man defense."
Also part of the equation on Thursday? The opponent. With polished scorers like LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan operating in Gregg Popovich's system, the Spurs were prepared to capitalize.
"Your margin of error against a well-coached, well-oiled machine is a little different," said Atkinson. "Maybe against a lesser team you pull it out anyway. On the road, against a good team, you can't make that many mistakes and expect to win."
CHALLENGING CALENDAR
The Nets pushed the Spurs to the limit on Thursday in a tough road test in a city where they haven't won since 2003, against one of the league's great coaches and a team that has nearly matched the Nets as one of the league's best over the last two months.
The 117-114 loss was the start of a challenging road for the Nets with the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets -- owners of two of the NBA's top three records -- due in Brooklyn next week. There's also another trip to Toronto just before the All-Star break as the Nets go on for a stretch playing without Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert and Allen Crabbe.
But the Nets have thrived since early December even dealing with those challenges, picking up wins against Toronto, Philadelphia and Boston along the way.
"I try to look at it one game at a time," said Kenny Atkinson before Thursday's game in San Antonio. "We’ve had these stretches before and have fared decently and have fared decently on the road. So, I know we’re capable, but that doesn’t make it any easier. We understand this is a big task before the All-Star break, and then, post-All Star we have a tough schedule. It’s a little bit of a measuring stick to see if we can get a few wins against these elite teams, see how far we’ve come, especially with Spencer out and other guys out and guys coming back. That kind of whole thing. It’s going to be interesting to see how we fare against these guys.
ZONED IN
Against San Antonio on Thursday night, the Nets turned to a high volume of zone defense, relying on it maybe as much as they have in any single game this season.
"It’s up there. Top three," said Atkinson. "It helped us, especially with their big studs, (LaMarcus) Aldridge and (DeMar) DeRozan. It helped with the post-up game. It helped keep DeRozan in front of us, No. 1 in the league in drives."
Deep into the fourth quarter, the Spurs were still shooting under 40 percent for the game, and the Nets extended to a 97-80 lead. A 13-4 San Antonio run made the difference, and the Nets never recovered."
"Well, it’s because we were missing," said Atkinson. "When we missed, we went back in man-to-man. Off makes, we’re in zone. We missed and they ran out and that’s kind of how they got downhill on us. I do think that zone was effective after makes. It kept them in front of us a little bit. They move around, they’re fast, they drive the ball."
ABOUT THE MAGIC
Brooklyn and Orlando are playing for the third time in 16 days with the Nets having won the first two, including a big comeback win in Orlando on Jan. 18. That's been part of a slide that has dropped the Magic to 21-31 with losses in seven of their last nine games, though they are coming off a 107-100 win against Indiana on Thursday. Nikola Vucevic leads the Magic with 20.6 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 37.8 percent from 3-point range. Forward Aaron Gordon is averaging 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds and guard D.J. Augustin is shooting 43.6 percent from 3-point range, eighth in the NBA.