Lonnie Walker IV scored a season-high 21 points as the Brooklyn Nets survived a shaky finish and earned a 100-93 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night in New York to keep James Harden winless with his new team.
Walker stepped up for the Nets after Cam Thomas was lost for the final 20:33 due to a sprained left ankle. He scored 11 points after entering the game and made 8 of 16 shots.
Despite Walker’s best night since joining the Nets as a free agent, Brooklyn sweated out the final minutes.
A 3-pointer by Mikal Bridges gave the Nets a 92-82 lead with 4 1/2 minutes left, and Los Angeles roared back to get within 94-90 on a basket by Kawhi Leonard with 1:55 remaining.
Spencer Dinwiddie hit a 3 with 77 seconds left, and Royce O’Neale clinched Brooklyn’s first home win by hitting a 3 with 18.3 seconds to go.
Thomas added 14 points before exiting when he collided with Los Angeles forward P.J. Tucker. Dorian Finney-Smith and O’Neale added 12 apiece while Day’Ron Sharpe contributed 11 and Bridges chipped in 10, eight rebounds and seven assists in his 400th straight game to open his career.
The Nets played without Ben Simmons (sore left hip) and shot 40.2 percent two nights after a four-point home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Paul George scored 24 to lead all scorers, but the Clippers shot 39.6 percent and missed 28 of 36 3-point tries in their third straight defeat. Leonard added 17, Russell Westbrook chipped in 13 and Harden contributed 12 while hearing boos every time he touched the ball against the team which traded him to Philadelphia at the 2022 trade deadline.
After the Nets trailed by three at halftime, Walker hit three 3s after replacing Thomas, including a triple as the shot clock expired with 6:10 left for a 60-55 lead, and the Nets led 73-71 through the third.
Consecutive hoops by Walker and Sharpe pushed Brooklyn’s lead to 89-78 with 6:42, resulting in a Los Angeles timeout before Bridges made it a 10-point game.
Brooklyn opened an 85-77 lead when Sharpe finished off a 3-point play with 8:32 remaining.
–Field Level Media
