The Brooklyn Nets let a 19-point lead slip away and came up short in a back-and-forth fourth quarter, losing to the Orlando Magic 115-113 at Barclays Center on Monday night.
There were 11 lead changes in the fourth quarter alone, with a 7-2 Orlando run putting the Magic up 115-111 with 1:12 remaining.
Spencer Dinwiddie led Brooklyn with 24 points, plus eight assists. Caris LeVert had 19 points and a season-high eight assists.
Garrett Temple scored 18 points, making 4-of-8 3-pointers and shooting 7-of-12 overall with five assists. Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Joe Harris scored 12 points and Taurean Prince had 10.
The Nets led by as many as 16 points in the first half on the way to a 54-41 halftime lead as Dinwiddie and LeVert combined for 25 points.
Leading 27-22 after the first quarter, the Nets took off by making nine of their first 14 shots in the second quarter, including 3-of-5 3-pointers. An 11-2 run early in the quarter had Brooklyn up 38-26. Two Dinwiddie 3-pointers extended the lead to 48-32 with three minutes left in the half. Dinwiddie scored 10 of Brooklyn’s final 14 points in the half as the Nets built their 13-point halftime lead.
Dinwiddie’s hot hand continued after halftime, as he quickly knocked down a pair of threes in the opening minute of the third quarter for a 60-43 lead. After a Harris 3-pointer put Brooklyn up 67-48, the Nets had made five of their first seven shots of the half, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
A Temple 3-pointer — his first of three in the quarter — had the Nets up 73-57 midway through the quarter, but the Magic followed with a 10-0 run that cut the lead to six. Brooklyn carried that same six-point lead into the fourth quarter with an 87-81 edge.
Orlando pulled into the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a 7-0 run to open the fourth quarter. The two teams combined for six lead changes and eight 3-pointers over the next 4:30, with a Harris 3-pointer bringing Brooklyn within 104-103 with 5:49 remaining.
A Harris layup followed by two Prince free throws put Brooklyn back up 107-106, but Orlando reclaimed the lead with an Aaron Gordon jumper with just over four minutes to go. After an Allen dunk put the Nets up 109-108, Orlando took the lead for good on a Nikola Vucevic dunk with 2:22 remaining.