LOS ANGELES — Brooklyn snapped a losing skid Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
The Nets aim not to start another one when they return Sunday afternoon.
“We can breathe a little bit. But we’ve got to get ready to do it again vs. the Clippers,” Dennis Smith Jr. said. “We won, we did what we’re supposed to do. We’ve got to flush [that] one, get ready for the next one.”
The Nets came to Los Angeles having lost 14 of 17 and dropping out position for a play-in spot.
A victory broke their slide … at least for a day.
If they follow a win over the Lakers by falling to the Clippers, what was supposed to be an epiphany will become just an aberration.
“Yeah, that was a good step, step in the right direction. But you know, to be honest we really didn’t do anything. It’s just one game, one game of us putting it all together,” Cam Thomas said. “We have another tough game coming up on Sunday against a team that’s rolling.
“The Clippers are rolling and playing well, playing great ball. So we’ve just got to look at this film and try to translate over to the next, because it’s the NBA. This game is over with. They’ve got a good team, a championship-caliber team. They’re coming, so we’ve got to pick it up, turn it up another notch. So, look at the film and just try to execute the next game, trying to build it on two games in a row.”
It was Thomas that poured in a game-high 33 points to beat his childhood favorite team on national television Friday night.
But that was against a Lakers team that is now just 7-13 since winning the NBA In-Season Tournament.
defends during the Nets’ win. Getty Images
The Nets will return to the site less than 36 hours later to face a red-hot Clippers team that is a different challenge altogether.
“We can definitely build off of it,” said center Nic Claxton — who had 22 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks and played All-Star Anthony Davis to a standstill. “We know how to Clippers want to play. They’ve been playing extremely well. So it’d be a really good challenge for us.
“But we just got to come out and focus on ourselves focused on our principles and build off what we did [Friday].”
Those Clippers — including former Nets superstar James Harden — are on fire.
Though Brooklyn earned a 100-93 win over the Clippers on Nov. 8, Los Angeles was in the middle of a six-game skid.
Harden was in the midst of forming his own new Big 3 with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Now, the Clippers have won nine of their past 11.
And they’ll be well-rested, having been off since handling Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
For the Nets, that earlier home win will hold no more weight than Friday’s.
“That first game, they weren’t nowhere near the form they’re in now,” Claxton said. “That was, what, the first or second game with them all playing together? They’ve been playing well now. So it’s really a totally different team.”
The Nets hoping they’re turning a new page as well.
After blowing last-minute leads against Miami and Portland, and needing to be more physical than their first half on Friday, they ramped up their physicality and outscored the Lakers 68-44 after the break — tied for the fewest they’ve allowed in a second half all season.
“It feels good. I think we really know what we’re capable of doing. I think we showed it. That last game against Portland struck a chord in a lot of us. We came with a little bit more fight, a little bit more grit and just edge,” Lonnie Walker IV said. “We know what we’re capable of doing. So sometimes when we don’t play to that capability, it sure as hell bothers us. And it just starts with just being accountable, hold each other accountable.
“Individually once you show that you can do one thing, you want to see it every single game and just show some consistency. … I’m happy with [Friday’s] win. Now we just got to keep stacking.”