Before the Nets and Heat squared off in Game 3 of these Eastern Conference semifinals Saturday night in Brooklyn, Joe Johnson was asked for one word to describe his team's state of mind as it entered the game in a 2-0 hole in the series.
"I would definitely say desperation," Johnson said. "We went to Miami and lost two, so it's only fitting for us to come home and take care of home court. We can't afford to lose a game on our home floor.
"We're trying to advance to the next game in this series, or to get through this series. We understand that Game 3 is the most important game for us at this point, but we do have to be very desperate from start to finish."
If anything was clear by the end of Brooklyn's 104-90 victory over the Heat in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center, it was the Nets were the far more desperate team. And, in the end, that proved to be enough to give the two-time defending champions their first loss of the postseason.
With the victory, the Nets have given themselves new life in this series, and will now have a chance to even it up at two games apiece if they can come away from Game 4 Monday night with another win.
After the two teams spent the first half going back and forth with the lead, the Nets pulled away for good in the third quarter when they went on an 18-5 run that was capped by a Deron Williams 3-pointer to give them a 77-61 lead with 1:13 left in the third.
From there, the Nets eventually built their lead up to as many as 20 in the fourth quarter as they cruised to a relatively easy win.
But while the Nets were the more desperate team over 48 minutes, in the opening 12 minutes, LeBron James was the most desperate man on the court. Sensing a chance to put a hammerlock on the series and all but ensure he and the Heat would advance to a fourth straight Eastern Conference finals, James started the game like a man possessed, seemingly determined to put together a historic performance and take down his most hated foes, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
James finished the first quarter with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting — including a ridiculous and-one layup that came on a flagrant foul on Paul Pierce, who tried to wrap him up around his neck to prevent it only for James to power through it for the basket.
From then on, however, James seemed almost disinterested in the proceedings, going 2-for-8 over the final three quarters and finishing with 28 points thanks to several trips to the foul line.
Even with James' first quarter heroics, the Heat only held a 30-29 lead after one, and as the game wore on, the Nets slowly began to impose their will on the proceedings. Unlike in the two games in Miami, the Nets managed to shut down the Heat's secondary players outside of the Big Three, with only James, Dwyane Wade (20 points) and Chris Bosh (12 points) finishing in double figures.
Meanwhile, the Nets got balanced contributions from across the starting lineup, including six players finishing in double figures, led by 19 points from Joe Johnson.
Unlike Miami, however, the Nets got strong play from its supporting cast, including an impressive 15-point, 10-rebound performance from Andray Blatche and 12 points from Mirza Teletovic, who went 4-for-7 from 3-point range and played solid defense against James.
The most encouraging development from Game 3, however, was the play of Williams. After catching flak for his scoreless performance in Game 2 — his first scoreless game in 60 career playoff appearances — Williams was very aggressive throughout, and though he shot 3-for-11, he finished with nine points and 11 assists, setting up several wide open 3-pointers for Johnson, in particular, throughout.
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