The Brooklyn Nets shook things up and shook off a three-game slide with Monday night's 127-88 win over the Dallas Mavericks at Barclays Center.
Allen Crabbe and rookie Rodions Kurucs returned to the starting lineup and the Nets broke out of their offensive funk with a 56.5-percent shooting performance, including 41.5 percent from 3-point range. Scoring up and down the roster, with a dominant bench effort, the Nets led by as many as 44 points early in the fourth quarter.
DeMarre Carroll matched his season high with 22 points while making 5-of-7 3-pointers and D'Angelo Russell posted his eighth double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 assists. Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie joined Carroll in powering Brooklyn's big bench performance. LeVert had 18 points with five rebounds and five assists and Dinwiddie had 16 points with five assists.
Kurucs matched his career high with five 3-pointers made as he finished with 19 points plus six rebounds. Joe Harris had 11 points and Ed Davis grabbed 10 rebounds.
A hot-shooting second quarter powered the Nets to their biggest halftime lead of the season, a 65-47 bulge at the break.
It started late in the first quarter, which the Nets closed on a 9-2 run behind LeVert, who had six of the points while Allen Crabbe added a 3-pointer as Brooklyn went up 31-21 going into the second quarter.
The Nets shot 59 percent overall (13-22) and 54.5 percent from 3-point range (6-11) while scoring 34 points in the quarter. Leading 51-36, an 11-2 run pushed their lead to 24 points.
Dinwiddie started things off with a drive and a pull-up 3-pointer, then fed Kurucs for a three. Carroll made 1-of-2 from the line, and Dinwiddie set up Jarrett Allen with the lob for an alley-oop dunk and a 62-38 lead with under four minutes to go in the half.
With a 79-63 lead midway through the third quarter, the Nets extended their lead to 25 points after an 11-2 run. Russell dropped in a top-of-the-key jumper, then one-handed a swing pass to Carroll for a 3-pointer.
Dinwiddie made two free throws, Harris curled to the rim for a layup off Carroll's feed, then drove and dropped for a Davis dunk and a 90-65 advantage. The Nets led by as many as 27 points in the third quarter before going into the fourth with a 99-73 lead.
UP NEXT
The Nets host the Cavaliers on Wednesday, then visit the Hawks in Atlanta on Saturday.