Nets Defeat Spurs for First Time Since 2010

newsday.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

February 6th, 2014

San Antonio Spurs vs. Brooklyn Nets Post Game Recap

Final Score: Spurs 89 Nets 103

For the first time since 2010, the Brooklyn Nets were able to defeat the San Antonio Spurs, as they took advantage of the banged up Spurs, earning themselves a nice victory at home. The win moves the Nets to (22-25) on the season, which puts them three games back of the Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division.

Player of the Game: Alan Anderson

One of the most unlikely people on the Nets to be the player of the game has to be Alan Anderson, but on Thursday night in a game the Nets needed to get against a Spurs team that was without so many of their rotation players, Anderson stepped up. Coming off the bench, Anderson played 30 minutes, while scoring a game-high 22 points on nine for 15 shooting. He really left his mark on the game in between the third and fourth quarters, as he scored 11 straight points for Brooklyn, which helped them secure the win.



Positives:

After a tough start in the game, going zero for four from the field for Deron Williams, he bounced back nicely despite having to go to the locker room in the second quarter after getting hit on his knee. Williams finished with 16 points on seven for 14 shooting to go along with his eight assists, and four rebounds. Getting hit on his knee however has to be concerning for Williams and the Nets, as he has missed a lot of time due to leg injuries, and those injuries have not helped his performance on the court in what has been a disappointing season for him.

The Nets bench was night and day different than against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, as with Andrei Kirilenko and Andray Blatche back in uniform, the Nets bench unit played great. Kirilenko did all the little things that he was brought in to do, as he had a season-high eight rebounds and a season-high six assists, while the Nets improved to (13-5) when he plays. Blatche also had a nice game coming off missing the 76ers game, as he had 10 points on five for 12 shooting, with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Mirza Teletovic, who did play against the 76ers also got in on the action scoring 10 points on four for 10 shooting, while grabbing seven rebounds. The Nets for being a pretty small team without Brook Lopez, dominated the glass on Thursday, grabbing a season-high 53 rebounds.

Good performances were seen from most of the starting lineup, as besides the good game from Williams, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston all played well. Garnett played just 18 minutes, but almost notched a double-double with eight points on four for nine shooting and nine rebounds. Pierce also had an easy night minutes wise playing just 23, but he scored 12 points on five for six shooting, and grabbed seven rebounds. Livingston had another nice all-around game, scoring eight points on four for nine shooting, with five rebounds, four assists, and four blocks.

Negatives: 

The only real negative for the Nets in the 14-point victory was that they did start off very sluggish in the first quarter, as they were outscored 24-17. They were down 18-6 at one point in the first quarter, but they bounced back and handled their business winning every other quarter by at least six points.

Next up for the Nets will be a trip to Detroit to face the Pistons on Friday night, and the Nets will be without Garnett, who will be getting a game off for rest.