Brook Lopez destroys Nets after warm welcome by Brooklyn fans
Brook Lopez spent almost a decade — his whole NBA career until getting traded this summer — as the face of the Nets. But in his return to Brooklyn since being shipped out of town, the Nets’ all-time leading scorer led his new team, the Lakers, to a dramatic win over his old one.
Lopez scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half to spur the Lakers past the Nets 102-99 before a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center on Friday night.
The Nets got a game-high 23 points, nine assists and seven boards from Spencer Dinwiddie, 20 points from rookie Jarrett Allen (Lopez’s successor at center) and 15 off the bench from D’Angelo Russell, the man for whom Lopez was traded.
In the end, the Nets (19-34) conceded an 11-0 fourth-quarter run that cost them. They spent the rest of the game fighting, but ran out of time when Joe Harris just missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Lopez, who always will be beloved by Nets fans, received a video tribute at before the game. He’s the team’s all-time leading scorer (10,444 points) and helped lead the Nets to three straight playoff berths, including a conference semifinal.
From riding past his old apartment on Dean Street, to walking through Barclays Center and having to force himself to go to the visiting locker room, Lopez said his return to Brooklyn was equal parts cool and bizarre.
“Obviously so many great memories. It was weird walking in, even taking the bus. Coming from the hotel we drove right by my place on Dean Street, and obviously coming down the elevator it was very bizarre,” Lopez said before the game. “But it was great seeing so many familiar faces, so many great friends. I had so many fantastic relationships and memories here. It’s great to be back.
“It was amazing. It was such a conscious effort walking from the bus to the locker room. I automatically kept walking down towards the home locker room, so I had to keep telling myself every step to go the right way. Even though I was in the right hallway, I wasn’t sure I was going in the visitor’s locker room. It was weird walking around in the bowels and not knowing really where I was going.”
In the fourth quarter, Russell gave the Nets an 87-85 lead on a finger roll with 11:14 to play, but the Lakers rolled off the next 11 points to grab a nine-point lead.
First Corey Brewer answered with a finger roll of his own. Then, after Jordan Clarkson hit back-to-back 3-pointers — gyrating down the court in celebration following the second — Brewer’s driving layup left the Nets in a 95-87 hole. Josh Hart’s free throw made it 96-87 with 6:36 to play.
Russell hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 96-90, and after Allen poked away a careless pass by Clarkson, the rookie center had a great fake and spin in the lane for a dunk. Allen’s block of Lopez got the crowd to its feet, and Dinwiddie cut it to three with a free throw.
Allen got blocked by Lopez, but when DeMarre Carroll drew a charge on Julius Randle (19 points), Allen beat Lopez for a layup the next time down the court to get the Nets within 96-95.
But Hart’s 3 from the right corner quelled the Nets’ run.
Lopez then got on the block and hit a hook for a 101-97 Lakers lead with 1:28 left.
Dinwiddie rebounded an Allen Crabbe miss and scored to cut the lead in half. But when the Nets finally forced a Lopez miss, Hart corralled a huge offensive rebound with 11.9 seconds left. The Nets had to foul, and Randle missed one of two free throws to hand them one last chance with 8.9 remaining.
Harris’ last-ditch shot clanked off the rim.