The lay of the ’Land
CLEVELAND — Maybe the Nets are getting used to unfamiliar faces and lineups. Perhaps they’re getting comfortable with the new system.
Or it could be the post-LeBron Cavaliers just plain stink.
Whatever the reason, the Nets finally kicked into gear and kicked the Cavaliers all over their own court, 102-86 on Wednesday night.
The Nets blew the game open with a 21-3 third-quarter run, led by as much as 23 and rolled to a laugher that had the announced sellout of 19,432 at Quicken Loans Arena booing the home team.
“Defensive-minded. We got stops early. We knew if a few possessions we keep getting stops they would turn around and let us do what we want. On the defense end we got it done,” said D’Angelo Russell, who had game-highs of 18 points and eight assists. “We missed so many bunnies, man. We can wow y’all even more if we make them.”
Even missing those layups — and they missed six or seven in a first half that saw them outrebounded and tied at 45-all — the Nets blew this open. They put six players in double-figures, pulled away with a 38-17 third quarter, and harassed the winless Cavs to 3of-18 from 3-point range.
“We locked in on defense, got some stops. We pushed the ball, played smart, limited turnovers. That’s when we’re at our best, playing with the pass, playing smart,” said Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who made his season debut off the bench. “Man, sky’s the limit. Sky’s the limit, keep getting better, keep getting to know each other.”
Hollis-Jefferson combined with starter Jared Dudley to hold Kevin Love to 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting and a game-worst minus-21. That’s how complete this was.
“I thought we played some good defense. We cut our turnovers down and started rebounding the ball. Those were the keys,” said coach Kenny Atkinson, whose team got hammered 37-25 on the glass in the first half but won the rebounding battle in the second to blow the game open.
“It was the key to the game. We told our guys at halftime they had 15 offensive rebounds. We needed to cut that down to have a chance. Giving up 86 points on the road to a team with Kevin Love and Rodney Hood and a lot of explosive scorers, that’s a heck of a job by our guys, heck of a defensive effort. That’s what gives you a chance on the road.”
That and finally holding onto the ball. The Nets came in leading the NBA in turnovers (20.3) and turnover ratio (20.5 percent), and were second-worst in assist-to-turnover ratio. But they had just 15 Wednesday, playing — for them — a fairly clean game.