NEW ORLEANS — After heartbreaks in Boston and Cleveland, the Nets were staring at a gut check in New Orleans.
Turns out their guts were fine.
After losing a late lead, the Nets came back to beat the Pelicans 107-105 in front of a packed crowd of 16,895 at Smoothie King Center.
Trailing 105-101 with 1:16 left, the Nets got the game-winner with a layup by Cam Johnson, a go-ahead 3-pointer by Cam Thomas, and a few defensive stands. .
With 14.9 seconds left in regulation, Thomas missed 1 of 2 at the free throw line, leaving New Orleans with a chance to tie the game at deuce. Javonte Green missed a 3-pointer, and Thomas grabbed the rebound to tie the game, before converting it with a jump ball.
The ball went wide and the Nets initially called it off. However, Jordi Fernandes' challenge was successful. They got it back and Dennis Schroder ran out the clock.
The Nets (5-6) lost in overtime to the defending champion Celtics on Friday, but the next day against the Cavaliers they took a fourth-quarter lead and became the league's last undefeated team. But they were back on track Monday.
“clearly, [we want] It’s a rebound,” Fernandez said before the game. “It's not that we played badly because our effort was great, but it was also an improvement because we were a poor team in the third quarter but we were better than the last two games. Obviously, finishing games is important in the NBA. Going back to the Boston game, they struggled offensively. And Cleveland was a disaster in the fourth quarter. .”
Seven players scored in double figures for the Nets, led by Thomas with 17 points, tying a season high. Ben Simmons had a season-high 12 assists off the bench.
After seeing New Orleans star Brandon Ingram tear his team apart for 22 points in the first half, the Nets doubled the ball out of his hands and held him to just two points in the second half. They lost their fifth straight game to the injury-riddled Pelicans (3-7), who played without Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum.
Simmons was primarily instrumental in a 13-4 run by the second unit to end the first quarter. He had six assists in the first quarter and 10 by the second half, joining James Harden, who was traded in 2022, as the only Nets with double-digit assists in a half against New Orleans. .
The Nets allowed 10 points without a response to the Pelicans, capped by Johnson's pass intended for Noah Clowney that was picked off by Antonio Reeves. The game ended Johnson's NBA record of seven consecutive games without a turnover, and the Nets trailed 32-29 with 9:37 left in the first half.
Giare Williams' 3-point shot ended a streak of 14 consecutive misses from deep stretches that had lasted until last month, and he finished with a total of 43.
Claxton's hook with 4:29 left in the third still tied the score at 73-all. The Nets dug themselves a hole, culminating with a Daniel Theis layup and allowing an 8-0 run over the next two minutes.
The Nets still led 96-90, but then rallied and went on an 8-2 run to tie the game. Clowney, the youngest player in Net history at 20 years and 120 days old, made his fifth 3-pointer with 5:11 left in the game to tie his team.
Ingram scored the first point of the second half to break the deadlock with 4:53 remaining. Thomas made a 3-pointer to give the Nets a 101-100 lead, but Ingram converted a Brandon Boston Jr. 3-pointer. Boston then got out of a Williams turnover to make it 105-101.
Johnson's layup cut the deficit in half, and after Boston missed a layup, Thomas' 3-pointer with 32.5 seconds left in regulation gave the Nets the lead.
They guaranteed that there would be no overtime.
