One probably wouldn’t have happened without the other.
It’s hard not to get lost in the Nets’ red-hot 3-point shooting in their 125-108 win over the Bulls on Friday night.
They erupted with 25 of 44 3-pointers, including 18 in the second half – tied for the most 3s made in an NBA half this season.
He also broke the team’s franchise record of 16, set earlier this season.
Their 25-3 shooting probably doesn’t represent a sustainable model for the future, and interim coach Kevin Ollie admitted as much after the game.
But what helped spark that barrage of shots – their defensive performance – may be.
“Once we got the saves, we got our confidence back at the other end,” Mikal Bridges said after the game. “We (were) looking for each other, sharing the ball. But yeah, it really starts with defense, man, bringing that energy. I think we were lacking energy, and then early in the third (quarter) we came out and played hard.
The Nets trailed 52-47 at halftime and gave up 85 points in three quarters, but held the Bulls to just 23 points in the fourth quarter.
The Bulls shot just a measly 16.7 percent from behind the arc in the quarter.
And then the Nets’ offense came alive, shooting 65.0 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, totaling 39 points.
Although the defensive results improved later in the match, Ollie felt his team’s efforts on that end of the pitch were consistent.
“They kind of stuck with their defense,” Ollie said. “I think we talked at halftime about getting back into transition a little bit. We gave up some assets in transition. But I thought our defense was solid most of the night. And then the shots came, and then we lit it.
“But I didn’t think our defense was faltering a little bit. We made a few mistakes in different matchups, but I thought our defense was pretty tight throughout the game, and then when the shots came, of course they’re going to get even more energetic. But I didn’t think our defense was that bad, even when we missed shots in the first half.
The Nets’ defense has stood out more than anything during their three-game winning streak, which has avoided elimination, for now, and delivered rare good vibes after a six-game skid and an extremely disappointing.
They recorded a defensive rating of 108.2 over those three games – ninth best in the NBA during that stretch.
Despite almost widespread regression since Ollie replaced Jacque Vaughn during the All-Star break, defense has been one of the only areas in which the Nets have actually improved under Ollie’s tutelage.
The Nets own a defensive rating of 111.7 since the All-Star break, good for 11th best in the league.
Before the All-Star break, it was 116.8 – 21st in the NBA.
“It didn’t start out that way (defensively Friday night),” Bridges said. “We (obtained) stops at the end of this third quarter, in fact from the beginning. I think all (these) shots came from the confidence that we will be able to make a stop. I think they scored 19 – or 23 – that fourth (quarter), but we were just playing good defense. I think that was it. And then we make the shots and we stop, it will spread out a little.
In a lost season, maybe that’s something small to build on.
“It’s just one of the closest teams I’ve been on, it’s one of the best teams as far as being together through tough times, being together.” , said Cam Thomas. “We all stay together. Obviously the wins didn’t come to that, but at the end of the day we just have to keep finding solutions and try to win every game we can.
New York Post
