For most of the game, foul-troubled Nets center Brook Lopez answered the question, “What’s 7-foot and invisible?” Joe Johnson was remarkably ordinary. And the opponents, the horrifically struggling Sixers, decided to be something other than a historic doormat.
So the Nets looked for someone, anyone, to avoid the embarrassment of being the Sixers’ second notch.
And just about everyone on the bench responded, but none more than a couple of ex-Knicks, Andrea Bargnani and Shane Larkin.
“AB was so huge coming off his injury, and then Shane was his usual aggressive, quick self,” Lopez said.
The bench fueled a game- and face-saving fourth quarter that began with the Nets in a four-point ditch. Bargnani and Larkin scored key back-to-back three-point plays and the Nets denied the Sixers’ upset bid with a 100-91 victory Thursday night at Barclays Center.
“It was a good win. In our situation, we take every win,” said Bargnani, who finished with 23 points in his first game after missing four with a tight left hamstring. “We could have done a better job being focused during the game. I thought in the first half, we didn’t do a great job being focused but in the end we got the ‘W’ and that’s all that matters.”
Nets coach Lionel Hollins had done everything except paste Post-It Notes on his players’ noggins about the dangers of taking the now 1-22 Sixers lightly. The Nets came out and, more through Philly’s awful play, led by 11 after one quarter. Then it came apart. The Nets, who ended up with a 19-turnover slop-fest, were outscored, 61-46, in the second and third quarters. Philadelphia, receiving 22 points and 10 rebounds from rookie Jahlil Okafor, plus 17 points from guard T.J. McConnell, another first-year guy, led 74-70 entering the fourth.
“We could have said, ‘They’re 1-21, we’ll just go out and get the win,’ ” said Larkin (14 points, six assists). “We hit early and they hit back. It showed a lot of heart to go out and play the way we did the rest of the game.”
The Nets, who rode their starters to victory over Houston on Tuesday, more than ever needed the reserves to claim their sixth victory in their last seven home games, with the lone loss coming to Golden State.
“This was truly a team win. We had a lot of people that played well,” Hollins said. “Andrea and Shane, Markel [Brown], Willie [Reed] and Wayne [Ellington] came off the bench and gave us yeoman’s work. We got into foul trouble with Brook so he didn’t get a lot of minutes or a lot of opportunities but everybody else picked up the slack.”
Especially in the fourth quarter.
With the Sixers up 74-70 at the start of the fourth, Bargnani hit a layup and Brown nailed a 3-pointer. Philly responded with a layup by Robert Covington for a 76-75 lead. Larkin hit a 3-pointer, but Richaun Holmes dunked for Philly and it was 78-78 with 9:35 left. Then the Nets apparently recalled Hollins’ messages as Bargnani and Larkin scored their consecutive three-point plays for an 84-78 lead.
“We definitely had to win the game. We have to beat the teams we’re supposed to beat,” said Thaddeus Young who registered 18 points and 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season, 10th in 13 games. “We came out and executed but got away from what we wanted to do for a quarter [actually two] and then the bench was real big, came in, gave us a spark and then the starters finished.”
And the biggest spark came from two guys who Phil Jackson trashed after each left the Garden. But no matter. Both guys are happy where they are.
“It was just being aggressive and I got some great passes so I was open for the shot,” Bargnani said of the fourth quarter.
“It’s just playing with confidence. My teammates and coaches instilling the confidence telling me to take the shots and make the plays,” Larkin said.