Brooklyn Nets hang tough, mount comeback for win against Dallas Mavericks, 113-109

Yahoo

08-04-2025

Photo byThe Brooklyn Nets likely ended their chances of nabbing the fifth-best NBA Draft Lottery odds with Saturday's victory over the Washington Wizards.
Ideal? Not exactly. But hey, the Philadelphia 76ers don't seem like they're going to win another game over the regular season's final fortnight. If so, they'd close their 2024-2025 on a 3-30 run. The master seems poised to out-tank the student.
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The more difficult pill to swallow is how Brooklyn won that game. The newest Brooklyn Net, Drew Timme, stole headlines with his late game-winner, but by far, the best player on the court was 29-year-old Cam Johnson. He posted 18/9/7, and was at the center of every positive offensive possession for Brooklyn after they fell down by 17 points in the second quarter.
Though Johnson wasn't on the court for Timme's game-winner, Brooklyn went a step further on Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Johnson was first ruled questionable, then out with a lower back contusion.
That opened up more playing time for grade-school teammates and a couple of Dallas kids, Jalen Wilson and Drew Timme...
Dallas countered with the healthiest version of the team they've had in months. Anthony Davis was looking to win his fifth straight game since returning to the lineup, but alongside him would be Daniel Gafford, returning from a 21-game absence.
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Predictably, Dallas dominated inside. They scored 56 paint-points on the night, often out-sizing the Nets into buckets or running some 4-5 pick-and-roll...
But their defense suffered. A lineup with Davis, Gafford, and PJ Washington, touting Spencer Dinwiddie and Klay Thompson as perimeter stoppers, could not stop the perimeter.
Brooklyn played ten guys on Monday; eight of them hit multiple threes. Timme added one of his own and his parents loved it...
Though his nine points are the fewest of his NBA career, Timme made multiple highlight plays, between that make, a block on AD, and jump-starting a fast-break by diving on the floor.
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One reason Brooklyn wasn't killed by Cam Johnson's absence is the veteran who returned in his stead. D'Angelo Russell, who entered Monday shooting below 30% from deep with the Nets this season, got going early and didn't stop...
He led Brooklyn with four 3-pointers en route to 18/5/11, perhaps the first vintage D'Lo performance since re-joining the franchise that resuscitated his NBA career.
All told, Brooklyn shot 20-of-51 from deep vs. Dallas, a mathematical victory that kept them in it no matter how often Davis, Gafford, and Kai Jones dunked the ball.
There were moments when it looked like Dallas was finally going to pull away. Porous perimeter defense aside, the talent disparity should have buried Brooklyn quickly, particularly underneath a team ostensibly trying to make the playoffs. Up 94-84 early in the fourth quarter, it appeared the Nets were finally going to go quietly into the dark. They'd put up a good fight, even an admirable one given their size disadvantage.
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But Dallas couldn't help themselves. Their parade of misses at the free-throw line continued, as they shot under 60% on the night. Klay Thompson shot 5-of-15 on the night, but crammed a bunch of those misses into a series of bad looks down the stretch, which ignited Brooklyn's transition offense.
After some crucial Tyrese Martin (11 points), Maxwell Lewis, and Dariq Whitehead (eight points each) buckets, it was officially a clutch game.
Then Brooklyn brought their starters back in. Why not, right? The tank has been decided anyway.
Nic Claxton made some big defensive plays down the stretch, and Russell found him for the dagger...
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Brooklyn's leading scorer on the night, Keon Johnson, tried to give the game away in the final minute, but was unsuccessful. After grabbing a rebound with forty seconds left and a two-possession lead, he raced the ball up the court and got swiftly blocked at the rim, allowing Dallas to go two-for-one.
Alas, it wouldn't blemish his 24/3/3 night, because Head Coach Jason Kidd inexplicably drew up Dallas' final play for Klay Thompson. He pump-faked a corner three, then shot it anyway, and it missed by a lot.
One scramble later, Spencer Dinwiddie found an open 30-footer that would've won the game. It hit back-rim, front-rim, back-rim, and then landed out of bounds, as Dinwiddie narrowly saved Brooklyn from themselves. No dice.
This win is less egregious than the Washington win, though still questionable given the veterans closing it out. But Dallas really deserved to lose, and players like Keon Johnson, Tyrese Martin, Maxwell Lewis, and Drew Timme were indispensable to this one. Stuff happens.
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Don't fret over the win. Focus on the good times, like Jalen Wilson getting to step to the line with 0.3 seconds left and make some celebratory free-throws in front of his family, icing an improbable Nets win...
No matter what this rebuild brings, the 2024-25 Brooklyn Nets are among the franchise's most resilient groups. No matter who plays, no matter who is injured. They deserve their props for that, just as they deserved a Monday night win.
Final Score: Brooklyn Nets 113, Dallas Mavericks 109
Milestone Watch
Let's start with a team-wide accomplishment: Brooklyn improved to 8-7 on the road vs. West opponents this season, joining Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and Indiana as East teams over .500 on the road vs. the West. Pretty neat.
Monday marked their 15th game with at least 30 assists this season, and their sixth with 20+ threes.
The Nets made nine of those long-balls in the second quarter, tying their season-high for any quarter.
Keon Johnson scored 20+ points for the 12th time in his career; ten of those games have come this season.
D'Angelo Russell posted his fourth double-double of the season, third as a Net.
Comcast and YES Network reach agreement
Talk about an 11th-hour agreement.
Just before the 11:59 p.m. ET deadline, and during the Nets-Mavericks game, Comcast and YES Network released a joint statement saying that the two sides had 'reached an agreement for continued distribution of the YES Network.'
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As Christian Arnold of the New York Post wrote, 'The two sides have been locked in a tense standoff related to carriage fees, with the cable provider wanting to move YES Network out of the basic cable tier to a higher-priced digital tier and the RSN resisting the move.
'Full details of the deal were not released, though it would appear that YES Network will remain in the expanded basic tier under the new agreement.'
Thus, Brooklyn Nets fans who watch the games through Comcast do not have to fret. No blackout is coming.
Boxscore: Brooklyn Nets 113, Dallas Mavericks 109 - NBA
Game Highlights: Brooklyn Nets 113, Dallas Mavericks 109 (Video) - NBA
Keon Johnson on the Nets' win over the Mavs (Video) - Meghan Triplett - YES Network
Jalen Wilson on capturing the win in his return home (Video) - YES Network
Jordi Fernández on Nets' win over Dallas (Video) - YES Network
Nets beat Mavericks 113-109 to win consecutive games for the first time since the All-Star break - AP
Nets rally for win over Mavericks that hurts lottery odds - Brian Lewis - New York Post
How Nets plan to use flexibility to acquire needed stars — with one big target in mind ($) - Brian Lewis - New York Post Sports+
The 'eff it' shift and childhood reunion behind Drew Timme's Nets breakthrough - Brian Lewis - New York Post
Nets outlast Mavericks 113-109 to earn 25th win of season - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
Tyrese Martin continues to produce in whatever role Nets ask of him - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News
Nets' Drew Timme outperforms Anthony Davis in fourth quarter of wild comeback win - Erik Slater - Clutch Points
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