B’klyn rally tops OKC in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY — Apparently Brooklyn grit carries all the way to Mexico.

The Nets pulled out a come-from-behind 100-95 victory over the Thunder at Arena Ciudad de Mexico and won over a sellout crowd of 20,562.

The Nets trailed by as many a 15, and were down 79-71 late in the third quarter. But they used a 22-6 run — sparked by Caris LeVert’s offense and withering late-game defense — to flip an eight point deficit to an eight point cushion they never surrendered and improve to 10-14.

“Very good defensive performance in the second half. … Caris LeVert com- ing in did a great job; 10 assists, no turnovers. Our bench was great,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We struggled physically in the first half adjusting to the altitude. We kept [going]. Good team win.”

With Spencer Dinwiddie limited by four early fouls to 6:22 first-half minutes, LeVert took a quantum leap forward with career-bests of 21 points and 10 assists, with no turnovers.

“Unfortunately Spencer had foul trouble so I just tried to make plays for the team,” LeVert said.

But it was defense that turned the tide.

Trailing 58-49 at the break, a Nets defense that let Oklahoma City shoot 50 percent in the first half held the Thunder to just 28.8 percent after halftime. They seemed to handle the thin air better, and wore the Thunder out.

With Paul George out and Carmelo Anthony scoring just 11 points on 5of-20 shooting, Russell Westbrook, last season’s MVP, poured in a gamehigh 31. But he had just five in the fourth quarter when the Nets held the Thunder to 7-of-25 shooting and outscored them 26-16.

“As the game went on we kept getting better. That was thanks to the players buying in to all the little things,” said Atkinson, whose team didn’t get its 10th win last year until March 1. “I just feel like we’re improving, we’re getting better game by game. I feel much more comfortable with the roster.”

Down 58-49 at the break, the Nets stormed out of the locker room with a 12-2 run to go up by one. They still led 71-70 with 3:14 left in the third before coughing up a 9-0 run, going down 79-72 after Raymond Felton’s 3pointer late in the third.

The Nets answered with a 22-6 run. Having traded away Trevor Booker earlier in the day in acquiring Jahlil Okafor, the Nets went small. With Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (17 points) at center, Allen Crabbe, Hollis-Jefferson and Dinwiddie all hit from deep to push the lead to 93-85 with 5:38 left. Dinwiddie’s dunk with under two minutes left was the exclamation point.

“We heard a chant “Let’s go Brooklyn!” Hollis-Jefferson said. “That gave us a little pep coming down the stretch.”