CLEVELAND — Spencer Dinwiddie's pull-up jumper with 1.6 seconds remaining lifted the Brooklyn Nets to a 108-106 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers for their fifth win in their last six games.
Dinwiddie, named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week earlier in the day, continued with the surge that has led the Nets over the past week finishing with 23 points and a season-high nine assists.
The surge of third-year center Jarrett Allen has been key to the Brooklyn Nets thriving through a recent run of injuries, and the 21-year-old was dominant Monday night. With fellow center DeAndre Jordan out with a sore ankle, Allen played 34 minutes and scored 22 points with 21 rebounds, including nine offensive boards.
It was Allen’s fifth double-double in his last seven games. He’s scored in double-figures in all seven after doing so just three times in his first nine. It was also the second 20/20 game of his career.
With the Cavaliers within two points with four minutes to go, Joe Harris attacked the paint for a pair of finishes at the rim and a 101-95 lead. Dinwiddie answered a Cedi Osman drive with an inside score of his own for a 103-97 edge. Allen then kicked out to Taurean Prince for a 3-pointer, making it a 9-2 run and a 106-97 Brooklyn lead with 2:10 remaining.
But a 9-0 Cleveland run tied the game, and the Cavs inbounded on their own baseline with 19.7 seconds to go. Allen blocked Clarkson's drive out of bounds, and the Cavs reset to inbound with 8.9 seconds remaining. The Nets forced a shot clock violation to take over and inbounded after a timeout with 6.2 seconds to go to set up Dinwiddie's game-winner.
Harris had 19 points and six rebounds and Prince had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Nets took a 52-51 lead at the break after a back-and-forth first half with nine lead changes.
Dinwiddie, Prince, and Harris combined for 37 of Brooklyn’s 52 first-half points. A Dinwiddie 3-pointer and a Prince transition dunk had the Nets up 20-15 before an 11-3 Cleveland run, and the Nets went into the second quarter down 26-25.
With Cleveland up 38-35, Dinwiddie sandwiched a Prince drive with a pair of baskets for a 41-38 lead. An Allen dunk had the Nets up 50-46, before Cleveland took a 51-50 lead. Dzanan Musa’s reverse layup at the buzzer put the Nets up by a point going into halftime.
Allen had 10 rebounds by halftime, and in the third quarter he scored 12 points, including seven straight that put the Nets up 75-70. After a Cleveland 3-pointer, Musa made 1-of-2 free throws, Theo Pinson made a pair, and Iman Shumpert's corner three had the Nets up 81-75 going into the fourth quarter.
But after Pinson opened up the fourth quarter with a drive for two, Cleveland scored nine straight points to go up 84-83. Musa broke the drought with a 3-pointer, then followed with a transition layup. Claxton’s inside finish had the Nets up 90-84 with under eight minutes to go.
Another Allen rebound basket had Brooklyn up 97-90 before the Cavs got a Larry Nance Jr. score and a Jordan Clarkson 3-pointer to make it a 97-95 game with four minutes remaining.