One probably wouldn’t have happened without the other.
It’s hard not to get carried away with the red-hot 3-point shooting in the Nets’ 125-108 win over the Bulls on Friday night.
They made 25 of 44 3-pointers, 18 of which came in the second half. This tied for the most 3-pointers made in a first half in the NBA this season.
It also broke the team’s franchise record of 16 games, set earlier this season.
Their 25 threes likely don’t represent a sustainable model moving forward, and interim coach Kevin O’Ree acknowledged that after the game.
But it may have been their defensive performance that sparked the shooting.
Mikal Bridges said after the game, “Once I got the stoppage, I had more confidence in my opponent.” “we [were] Look for each other and share the ball. But yeah, it actually starts with defense, bringing this energy.we think so [were] Not enough energy, and at the beginning of the third [quarter], we came out and played hard. ”
The Nets led 52-47 at halftime, allowing 85 points in the third quarter, but held the Bulls to just 23 points in the fourth.
The Bulls shot just 16.7 percent in the quarter.
The Nets’ offense then became active, scoring 39 points in the fourth quarter on 65.0 percent shooting from the field and 81.8 percent from 3-point shooting.
Although the defensive performance improved in the second half of the game, O’Ree thought the team’s effort on that end of the court was consistent.
“They just kind of held their defense,” Oley said. “I think we talked at halftime about getting back to transition a little bit. We gave up some possessions in transition. But I thought our defense was solid pretty much all night. And the shots went in and the switches went in.” I put it in.
“But I didn’t think our defense slowed down one bit. We made some mistakes in a few different matchups, but I thought our defense was pretty solid throughout the game, and then when we got the shots. Of course they will gain more momentum, but I didn’t think their defense was that bad. [were] Shooting mistake in the first half. ”
The Nets’ defense has been the highlight of their three-game winning streak that has kept them from elimination so far, providing a rare good vibe after a very disappointing season of six straight losses.
In those three games, they posted a 108.2 fielding percentage, ninth-best in the NBA during that span.
Despite regressing almost across the board since O’Ree replaced Jacque Vaughn during the All-Star break, the defense has been one of the only areas where the Nets have actually improved under O’Ree’s guidance.
Since the All-Star break, the Nets have a defensive rating of 111.7, the 11th best in the league.
Before the All-Star break, he was 21st in the NBA at 116.8.
“It didn’t start like that. [defensively Friday night]” Bridges said. “we [were] Not only in the beginning, but after the third quarter, there was a stoppage.I think it’s all [those] It was born out of confidence that he could stop the shot.I think they scored 19 or 23 points in that fourth. [quarter], I was just playing good defense. I think that’s what it was. Then, once you make the shot and stop it, it will spread out little by little. ”
Maybe we can accumulate small things in this lost season.
“This is one of the closest teams I’ve ever been on. One of the better teams in terms of staying together and sticking together during difficult times.” Cam Thomas said. “we [are] Everything just sticks together. Of course, winning didn’t bring that, but at the end of the day we have to keep finding solutions and try to win every game possible. ”
