The Brooklyn crowd was pulsating, primed for a cathartic burst. But it never came.
The Nets crept to the brink of an unlikely win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night after having trailed by 27 points. With each point the Nets shaved off the deficit, the fans seemed to grow louder and more engaged. It was with a groan, then, that the sellout crowd at Barclays Center watched the Nets slump to a 99-94 defeat.
It was yet another disappointing loss, and it dropped the Nets' record to 4-11.
During the first half, the fans chatted away as if they were watching an unknown opening act at a concert, seemingly oblivious or unconcerned that a game was going on. But Mirza Teletovic, a little-used reserve forward, became an unlikely catalyst, and he seemed to unload months of pent-up energy while scoring a career-high 17 points and leading the Nets' comeback.
Teletovic opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer that brought the Nets within 6 points. He powered on, blocking Wesley Johnson's layup attempt with 4 minutes 52 seconds remaining, sending a jolt through the building. Seconds later, he slipped out beyond the 3-point line, caught a sharp pass from Paul Pierce and sank a jumper that cut the Lakers' lead to 92-91.
Seconds after that, Teletovic raced down the court on a fast break, caught an arcing pass and was wrapped in a bearhug by Nick Young. The crowd went wild when he hit his first free throw, which tied the score at 92-92 with 3:57 remaining. The other one dribbled off the rim, but the noise from the stands lingered.
The teams traded fouls and misses until 1:33 was left in the game. Pierce threw a bad crosscourt pass that was intercepted by Johnson, who sprinted down the court and pounded in a two-handed dunk that gave the Lakers a 94-92 lead.
Steve Blake made one of two free-throw attempts with 17.2 seconds remaining, leaving the game at 95-92 and handing the Nets life. Alan Anderson dunked for the Nets on the ensuing play, cutting the deficit to 1 with 9.8 seconds remaining. But Jodie Meeks made two free throws on the other end, dashing the Nets' hopes.
The Nets outscored the Lakers, 28-23, during the third quarter, which augured well for the home team. Entering Wednesday, the Nets had won all four games in which they had outscored their opponents during the third quarter, and lost all 10 times they were outscored. But the trend did not hold up Wednesday.
The Lakers entered with a 10-game winning streak against the Nets, but they were without Kobe Bryant, who has not played a game since rupturing his Achilles' tendon last April. Bryant, 35, resumed practicing this month — and also signed a two-year contract extension — and is expected to make his return soon. Steve Nash, another aging Lakers star, has been out, too, nursing various sore body parts.
The understaffed Lakers have survived this season on 3-point shooting, and it seemed an ominous sign for the Nets when they opened the game by hitting their first three attempts from beyond the arc. The Nets fell to an 11-2 deficit within 2:04 and were compelled to take a quick timeout.
Soon, the Lakers were venturing into the paint, where they encountered little resistance. Young went on a personal 9-point run to close a lopsided first quarter, which ended with the Lakers up, 34-18.
The Lakers' dominance bled seamlessly into the second quarter. Jordan Farmar went on his own 9-point run — hitting three consecutive 3-pointers and forcing the Nets into another early timeout 1:11 into the quarter. After trailing by as many as 27 points during the second quarter, though, the Nets went on a 15-0 run — built on suddenly stout defense — that cut the deficit to a manageable size and awakened the crowd. The Lakers led, 54-40, at halftime.
The Nets' immediate future remains murky. They are playing short-handed, missing four key players, and there has been little indication about when they might return.
"They're day to day," Coach Jason Kidd said, words he has repeated often this season. "These are injuries that, they can come back anytime. So we just take it day by day, and we'll see how they feel tomorrow."
Brook Lopez missed his seventh consecutive game and Deron Williams his fourth; both players are battling sprained left ankles.
The Nets were also without the backups Jason Terry, who missed his fourth straight game with a sore left knee, and Andrei Kirilenko, who skipped his ninth consecutive game with a sore back.
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