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Nets blazing trail toward playoffs after win over Portland

Win Fifth Straight at Home to Shave Magic Number to Four

April 7, 2015 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Robin Lopez (right) proved no match for his twin brother Brook, who had 32 points in Brooklyn’s fifth straight home win Monday night at Downtown’s Barclays Center. AP photo
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Brook Lopez resumed the best stretch of his NBA career, Deron Williams continued to perform like a true franchise point guard and the Brooklyn Nets, once left for dead in the Eastern Conference playoff race, are beginning to “close the door” on the competition in their ongoing postseason quest.

Lopez, fresh off his second straight Eastern Conference Player of the Week award, poured in 32 points and ripped down nine rebounds Monday night against his twin brother, Robin, as the Nets beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 106-96, in front of 17,416 Brooklyn basketball enthusiasts at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

Williams, a dormant and somewhat forgotten figure for long stretches this season, added 24 points and handed out 10 assists without committing a single turnover as Brooklyn improved to 11-3 in its last 14 games.

With their fifth consecutive home win, the Nets (36-41) took advantage of a Portland squad that was minus three integral players – LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Chris Kaman – to move into sole possession of seventh place in the East.

Brooklyn is one full game ahead of eighth-place Boston and two in front of Indiana and Miami, who currently share the ninth position, with only five regular-season contests remaining.

“We’re trying to close the door on those other teams and the only way you can do that is by winning,” said Nets coach Lionel Hollins, who will hope to move closer to slamming that door completely shut when the Nets host Atlanta on Wednesday night.

Thaddeus Young, whose arrival in Brooklyn back in February helped spark this late-season run, had 20 points and rookie Bojan Bogdanovic led the “Bench Mob” with 15 points after Alan Anderson was unable to play due to a sprained left ankle suffered in Saturday’s blowout loss in Atlanta.

“I knew I had to step up because [Anderson] was out,” Bogdanovic noted. “We have to protect our home [court] and try to make the playoffs.”

All this late-season success came after the Nets dropped five in a row in early March, including four in a row at Barclays, to slip as far as 3 ½ games back in the tight race for the conference’s precious few available playoff spots.

Lopez, a force in the paint throughout Brooklyn’s resurgence, and Williams, suddenly rejuvenated after an extended malaise, are finally clicking like general manager Billy King imagined when he made them the franchise’s foundation players three summers ago.

“I just think with Brook and Deron, they’ve both gotten healthier,” Hollins said. “As the season’s gone on they’ve gotten more confidence in what they can and can’t do.”

Any combination of four Nets wins and/or four losses by their nearest competitors over the final five games will cement Brooklyn’s third consecutive playoff berth since the team moved here from New Jersey.

It will also result in a difficult first-round showdown with either conference-leading Atlanta or LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But that’s all gravy to these Nets, who spent the first 60 games of the campaign searching for an identity, and a healthy enough roster to make a serious bid at the playoffs.

Now that they’ve found their collective groove, the Nets are solely focused on doing what they can to extend their third season in our fair borough.

* * *

Nothing But Net: The Lopez brothers admittedly do their fair share of good-natured trash-talking back and forth through the media, but Robin had to salute Brook’s recent run of dominance following Monday’s contest, even if it was through gritted teeth. “He’s a stubborn guy,” Robin Lopez told the Associated Press. “No matter what people say about him, no matter what happens, he’s just going to stick with what he knows how to do. That’s what he’s been doing.” … Unlike the rest of his teammates, Joe Johnson endured a brutal night against the Blazers, going 1-for-10 from the field en route to six points. Rookie Markel Brown, starting alongside Williams in the Brooklyn backcourt, wasn’t any better, finishing with two points after missing all five of his field-goal tries. … After hosting the Hawks, who handed them a 131-99 “whipping”, according to coach Hollins, in Atlanta last weekend, the Nets will welcome Paul Pierce and the Washington Wizards here on Friday night. After that, Brooklyn plays its final road game Saturday in Milwaukee against former coach Jason Kidd’s Bucks before hosting Chicago here next Monday and Orlando next Wednesday in the regular-season finale. … The Nets committed only seven turnovers Monday while forcing 12.

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