We carry on with Jason Kidd’s rookie season countdown, and at No. 2 is a turning-point win for Kidd’s squad against one of the top teams in the league.
No. 2: Jan. 2, 2014 — BK tops OKC in Season-Turning Victory
Entering the 2014 calendar year, Jason Kidd and the Brooklyn Nets were desperately in need of a fresh start. The squad’s record stood at just 10-21 thanks to a multitude of injuries that made it hard for the rookie coach’s lineup to consistently click.
A January 2nd road matchup against the powerhouse Oklahoma City Thunder proved to be just what Brooklyn needed, as they earned a 95-93 win on a buzzer beater from Joe Johnson.
“Everybody pitched in,” Kidd said. “And that’s what it takes to win. … 2014 is off to a good start. It’s a new year.”
Deron Williams led the way with a game-high 29 points, and Paul Pierce added 18 in the winning effort. Kidd’s team benefitted from some opportunistic defense, turing 14 second-half turnovers from OKC into 20 points.
The first quarter was sloppy, as neither team could generate a sound offensive rhythm. In the back-and-forth affair, the lead changed five times and the teams were tied on six occasions. But thanks to an Alan Anderson trey at the buzzer, Brooklyn held a 29-26 lead at the end of the first. Williams had eight points in the frame, and OKC star Kevin Durant paced the Thunder with nine.
Brooklyn fell behind in the second quarter, as the team went cold, making just 3-of-16 attempts from the field. In contrast, OKC shot over 60 percent from both the field and behind the arc. After the two sides traded buckets to start the frame, the Thunder used an 11-0 run to pull ahead 50-37. Brooklyn was able to cut the lead to single digits on a pair of Pierce free throws, but the Thunder ended the half on a 7-2 run in response. As such, the Nets trailed 59-44 through two quarters of play.
Forced to play from behind, Brooklyn pulled it together in the third frame, battling toe-to-toe with the Thunder and two consecutive Williams treys cut the OKC lead to seven early in the frame. Oklahoma City held strong in response and briefly pulled ahead by 16, 77-61, but Kidd’s Nets kept battling. Pierce and Williams each drained key shots in the quarter’s final minutes to make it 77-66 heading into the fourth. Williams scored 11 points in the frame to lead the Brooklyn charge.
In the fourth quarter, the Nets finally came alive. Once again, D-Will kicked things off, as he drained another long jumper for the first points of the quarter. But it was in the final six minutes and change that Brooklyn really asserted themselves.
From the 6:33 mark, the Nets went on a 13-0 run to take a 93-89 lead with 1:31 to go. Oklahoma City was able to pull back even when Durant, the eventual league MVP, hit a running jump shot, and Serge Ibaka followed a layup with 5.8 seconds remaining to tie up the score at 93. Kidd then took a timeout to discuss the potential game-winning play.
J-Kidd made the decision to put the ball in the hands of Johnson, who took the ball off the inbounds pass and drained a 19-foot jumper for the win.
“Coach drew up the play in the huddle,” said Johnson of the moment. “And the rest was history.”
Williams, whose performance was one of his best of the season hoped that Brooklyn would be able to build on the win.
“It’s a good way to start the new year,” Williams said. “It’s a clean slate, I guess, and hopefully we can build on it.”
