Nets hold on to beat Nuggets
NEW YORK -- Brook Lopez scored 24 points as the Brooklyn Nets blew most of a 29-point lead and held on for a 116-111 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
Lopez was among five starters in double figures for Brooklyn (6-15), which wobbled to the finish of its second win in 10 games.
The Nets held a 92-63 lead with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter but were outscored 48-24 the rest of the way. Brooklyn never trailed but misfired on 20 of 24 shots in the fourth quarter.
Wilson Chandler led all scorers with 11 of his 27 points in the fourth for Denver, which held a commanding 58-42 rebounding advantage and attempted 20 more shots than the Nets.
Sean Kilpatrick added 22 points while Bojan Bogdanovic had 19 points, Trevor Booker collected 15 and 12 rebounds as the Nets posted their sixth straight victory over Denver. Reserve Joe Harris contributed 16 and rookie Isaiah Whitehead totaled a career-best 14 for Brooklyn.
Will Barton added 15 for Denver, which gave up 27 points on 17 turnovers. Nikola Jokic and Jameer Nelson added 14 apiece for the Nuggets, who scored 32 points in the final 12 minutes.
After Denver coach Michael Malone was ejected by Derrick Stafford with 7:43 remaining, the Nets took a 29-point lead on a 3-pointer by Whitehead about two minutes lead. By the end of the third, Denver was within 96-79 and the Nuggets kept coming back in the fourth.
Denver got it to 103-99 on a basket by Kenneth Faried with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining. Brooklyn regained its double-digit lead at 109-99 on a short jumper by Kilpatrick with 3:29 left. Nearly two minutes later, the Nets took a 111-101 lead on two free throws by Harris but Chandler hit a 3-pointer with 1:15 left to make it 111-104.
After Lopez missed a 3-pointer, Jokic made two free throws to get it to 111-106 with 51.3 seconds left. The Nuggets then got it to 111-109 with 16.3 seconds left on a corner 3-pointer by Chandler.
Booker split a pair at the line with 13.8 seconds left to give the Nets a 112-109 lead. Following a timeout, Nelson threw the inbounds pass out of bounds behind the basket and the Nets called a timeout.
Two free throws by Bogdanovic with 12.7 seconds upped the lead to 114-109 and following Denver's last timeout, Chandler's basket made 114-111. Brooklyn finally sealed the win on two free throws by Kilpatrick with 8.5 seconds left.
NOTES: Denver C Nikola Jokic was active after missing three games with a sprained left wrist. Coach Michael Malone's main concern before the game was how Jokic would handle contact, especially defensively. ... Brooklyn F Sean Kilpatrick played eight games with Denver last season. Malone was asked if he was surprised about Kilpatrick's success this year. "Not to me. I'm a huge fan. I was last year." ... Nets G Isaiah Whitehead had his jersey retired Tuesday at Lincoln High School in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. ... G Yogi Ferrell was listed as questionable with a sprained right ankle but was available.