Lionel & D-Will on Nets’ win over Warriors

The Nets beat the Golden State Warriors 110-108 on Monday night at Barclays Center, their fourth win in six games since the All-Star break. They won three of five on the road before this one, their first home game in 24 days.

Nets Head Coach Lionel Hollins said of the team’s change in attitude since they returned from the All-Star break, “Well, it’s obviously better chemistry, better camaraderie. We’re playing more for each other. We’re kind of buying into our roles and also the system that we’re running as well, and we’ve been competing in the last six games. We’ve been in every game and had a chance to win each of them, so that’s what you want as a team. I just thank God that we finally executed on one of the last possessions to win the game because we had our chances before that and we couldn’t. And they kept coming down and making shots. And ultimately Jarrett (Jack) had a big shot to win the game. But we had a lot of big plays made throughout the course of the game, and we played extremely well. And we just didn’t close it out as well as we would have liked to, but we still won the game because we made the play that was necessary.”

On the last play of the game, Jarrett Jack dribbling it at the top of the key, shooting it over Stephen Curry, who was playing tight defense, for the game-winner with 1.1  seconds left. Hollins said of running the same play that beat the Clippers on February 2nd, “I’ll tell you what Jack Ramsay told me one time. He looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Coach, give me the ball.’ No, I don’t know. We were floundering. Everybody had had a chance. I know that if they switch, Jarrett’s going to have a big guy on him and I think he can get a shot for us. And, again, he did it. The Clippers game was the same thing. They switched Draymond Green on him, and he wound up getting a shot. And that’s all we’re hoping for is to get a good luck. And Jarrett made the shot, and we go home happy.”

On what pleased him the most about pulling out the win over Golden State, and noting the preponderance of Warriors fans at Barclays Center, Hollins said, “Well, we can send all of those Golden State fans home that came to watch here in Brooklyn tonight. That’s what I told the team. We have to excite our own crowd and get them to be Brooklyn Nets fans and not just opposing team fans. This is definitely the start. When you win games like this, people take notice. They keep coming back and eventually they start rooting for you versus the other team.”

Hollins said of differences in the Nets’ offense since the All-Star break, “Well, we had a lot of guys playing well. We’re healthy, and that all helps. We’ve changed the tempo and try to play more in the flow early versus trying to set up and run plays. We don’t have the dominant post players to slow us down. We’ve taken one out and only have one big in the game at any moment. I think there is one game where we had two ‘bigs’ in the game, but the rest of the time, we’re only playing one big. We have four smaller guys, and they can all pace the court and put the ball on the court and shoot. And we’ve been shooting the ball extremely well, but we’ve also been getting to the basket. Deron (Williams) has been superb since the All-Star break in his aggressiveness and attacking and that helps everyone else have easier shots.”

Deron Williams, who was restored to starting point guard after the All-Star break, said of the difference between before it and now, “I don’t know. We’re just playing at a different pace, different tempo, I think – just playing with more confidence, which I always say is key.”

Williams said of having to adjust his mentality now that the team is playing fast, “Well, I like playing faster, so it’s definitely beneficial to me and Jarrett (Jack), as well as a lot of guys we have on this team. It’s opened up a lot for us. We’ve gotten a lot more opportunities in transition. I think there is a better flow to the game.”

On starting to look at the playoff race, D-Will said, “I think we have been looking at it all season. We just haven’t been able to put it together, and we are starting to play better. This was a huge win for our confidence and the Dallas one (on Saturday night) was as well. We felt like looking back at that Houston game, we still let one go. But these last two have made up for it, and we’ve got to continue to improve and get better as a team.”

On his reaction to Jarrett Jack’s game-winning shot, Williams said, “It was huge. I don’t think anyone wanted to go to overtime. It was a big shot by him and something we definitely needed.”

Markel Brown has joined Williams in the starting lineup at the other guard position, and Williams said of having a defensive specialist like Brown out there, “It was great. I think Markel has been playing really well on both sides of the ball. He does give us a lot defensively. He is so athletic and quick. We knew he was a good defender coming in from the Draft. He plays well defensively in practice, but it’s different to see him out there playing against Klay Thompson and guys like that and playing well.”

 

 

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