SAN ANTONIO — Up by 12 points late in the third quarter, the Brooklyn Nets gave up 19 straight points to the San Antonio Spurs in a run that stretched into the fourth quarter and dropped a 118-105 final.
After San Antonio went up 90-81 three minutes into the fourth quarter, the Nets closed within 96-94 on a Spencer Dinwiddie dunk with 5:44 to go. But the Spurs scored six straight to push their lead back to eight
Dinwiddie set a career high with 41 points, shooting 14-for-29 and 9-for-10 from the foul line. Jarrett Allen posted a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds, plus five assists. Garrett Temple added 10 points and DeAndre Jordan had 11 rebounds.
The Nets built a 14-point second-quarter lead and went into halftime leading 56-50.
Dinwiddie had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting at the break, leading the Nets to 30 points in the paint in the first half alone. The Nets jumped out to an early 12-2 lead, with 3-pointers from Joe Harris and Dinwiddie, and then an Allen dunk that put the up 10. San Antonio cut that lead down to two points before Brooklyn took a 33-27 lead into the second quarter.
The Nets quickly pushed that lead back up to 10 behind a Temple 3-pointer, followed by two free throws from Temple and another pair from David Nwaba. Still up by 10, two Allen finishes — a rebound basket followed by a lob from Dinwiddie — and Dinwiddie’s score on the break had the Nets up 56-42 before the Spurs scored the final eight points of the half to get back within six.
Brooklyn stretched its lead back to 12 points midway through the third quarter, with Allen converting a three-point play, Dinwiddie drawing a goaltend on a drive, and Allen connecting for a pair of free throws and a 74-62 lead with 5:22 to go in the quarter.
But the Spurs ultimately closed the period on a 12-0 run over the final two minutes to take an 83-81 lead into the fourth quarter.
The San Antonio run continued into the fourth, with the Nets going scoreless for 5:39 as the Spurs expanded their run to 19-0 and took a 90-81 lead three minutes into the fourth quarter.