Nets Streak Past LeBron, Lakers To 115-110 Win
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — D'Angelo Russell had 22 points and a career high-tying 13 assists against his former team, and the Brooklyn Nets ran the NBA's longest winning streak to six games by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 115-110 on Tuesday night.
Joe Harris added 19 points and Spencer Dinwiddie scored 18 for the Nets, who last won six in a row from March 25 to April 3, 2015. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson finished with 17 points and Jared Dudley made some big baskets down the stretch to score 13.
LeBron James bounced back from his lowest-scoring game of the season with 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, but the Lakers finished 1-3 on their road trip. Kyle Kuzma had 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Lonzo Ball scored 23 points.
Brooklyn continued its recovery from an eight-game skid by holding on in front of a loud, large crowd that alternated cheering when the Lakers seized the momentum and when the Nets regained it.
Brooklyn led 100-87 with 7½ minutes to play before back-to-back 3-pointers by Kuzma and Ball made it 100-93. James then scored inside, blocked a shot on the other end and scored again, capping a 10-0 run.
Dudley and Dinwiddie answered with drives, and Dudley hit two more baskets to settle the Nets before Russell's 3-pointer made it 113-107 with 22 seconds remaining.
The Nets had scored 70 points in the first halves of their last two games, and were almost on pace in this one after taking a 33-32 lead after one quarter. They trailed by five with under three minutes left in the half before a 13-3 finishing surge for a 62-57 lead.
Brooklyn then used a 12-0 run to turn a two-point edge into its largest lead, going ahead 79-65 on Hollis-Jefferson's three-point play with 7:27 remaining in the third quarter. The Lakers trimmed it to five late in the period on a 3-pointer by James and the Nets led 90-83 going to the fourth.
James was limited to 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting in a loss to Washington on Sunday and things started rough for him in this one, as Jarrett Allen denied his attempt at a dunk with a sensational block on his first attempt. James was called for traveling the next time he had the ball before finding his groove.
TIP-INS:
Nets G Allen Crabbe missed his third straight game because of a sore right knee. The Nets snapped an eight-game skid against West teams with their first win since Nov. 9 at Denver.
SINGING STRUGGLES:
British singer and actress Cynthia Erivo struggled through her performance of the national anthem. She appeared to forget the words at one point and stopped singing. After pausing to refocus, she began again from the start of the song, got a word wrong and then skipped a couple of lines. But the crowd was supportive of her strong finish and gave her a nice ovation afterward.
UP NEXT:
The Nets look to keep their streak going in Chicago on Wednesday.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
