The Brooklyn Nets bounced back with emphasis, routing the San Antonio Spurs 139-120 in a wire-to-wire win at Barclays Center on Friday night.
A 22-2 run in the first half set the course for the game, and the Nets led by as many as 33 points in their highest-scoring game of the season. Brooklyn had eight players score in double figures, shot 53.1 percent overall and 41.7 percent from 3-point range, had 32 assists, and outrebounded the Spurs 50-37.
Through three quarters, the Nets shot 57.3 percent (43-of-75), including 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from 3-point range, with 25 assists and just four turnovers.
Caris LeVert posted his first career triple double in leading the Nets with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. LeVert shot 9-of-16, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 6-of-7 from the foul line. DeAndre Jordan had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Joe Harris had 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 points with nine assists. Taurean Prince had 13 points and Jarrett Allen had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot had 19 points, shooting 5-of-7, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 on free throws, while Chris Chiozza had 13 points and five rebounds.
The Nets were overwhelming early, leading by as many as 33 points in the second quarter on the way to a 75-54 halftime lead.
They took off right from the opening minutes. Leading 7-6, Brooklyn scored the next 15 points while limiting the Spurs to 3-of-12 shooting in the first six minutes, including 0-of-3 from 3-point range.
After San Antonio finally got back on the board, the Nets kept rolling with a pair of Prince baskets followed by a Harris 3-pointer. That capped a 22-2 run that had the Nets up 29-8 eight minutes into the game. At that point, Brooklyn was shooting 11-of-15 overall and 3-of-5 from 3-point range. At the end of the first quarter, the Nets led 41-22.
The break between quarters didn’t slow them down. LeVert scored eight points in an 11-0 run, starting and finishing it with 3-pointers and putting Brooklyn up 56-27. The Nets pushed their lead to 69-36 and still led by 21 at halftime.
Over those first 24 minutes, the Nets shot 52.8 percent overall and 50.0 percent from 3-point range, had 15 assists against just two turnovers, and outrebounded San Antonio 31-18.
After the Spurs closed the first half on a 16-4 run, they scored the first five points of the third quarter to close within 16 points, trailing 75-59. But the Nets shut down the San Antonio momentum with a team-record 45-point third quarter.
Leading 88-72, the Nets outscored the Spurs 20-8, with a Dinwiddie 3-pointer pushing the Brooklyn lead back up to 27 points, 108-81. With a 120-95 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Nets set a franchise record for most points scored through three quarters.