NEW YORK -- Caris LeVert caught a pass from Spencer Dinwiddie, stepped back beyond the 3-point arc and took aim. Swish. With one minute left in the fourth quarter, LeVert gave the Brooklyn Nets a one-point lead over the Miami Heat as the game clock wound down. A sizable Heat fan base went from screaming, "Let's go Heat!" to eerily silent. Chants of, "Broooooklyn" took over.
Free throws from Joe Harris sealed Brooklyn's 117-113 win over Miami. The win ended a seven-game losing streak for Brooklyn, the longest active skid in the league. Dinwiddie finished with 26 points and a career-high 14 assists.
"Getting the monkey off our back felt really, really, really, really, reallllly good," Dinwiddie said, grinning ear to ear in the locker room afterward.
During the losing skid, Brooklyn struggled to close out games. The Nets would hang around for three quarters, then crumble in the final period. They were outscored in each fourth quarter (by a combined 46 points) in the previous six games.
But Friday night was different. After three quarters, the Nets and Heat were tied at 89, with the Nets overcoming what was a 12-point third-quarter lead for the Heat. Brooklyn outscored Miami by four in the final period and was able to complete key defensive stops down the stretch.
According to ESPN's Stats & Information, the Nets outscored the Heat 14-4 in clutch time Friday night. During Brooklyn's string of losses, it was outscored 61-31 in clutch time.
"I think [the difference in the fourth quarter] was communication, from timeouts, from everybody talking, everybody sharing what they see, coaches giving us a great game plan and putting us in position to execute," power forward Taurean Prince said. "The five guys that were on the floor were communicating as well and doing what we had to do down the stretch."
Coach Kenny Atkinson said the Nets were reinvigorated during Kyrie Irving's first full practice since mid-November. Irving was cleared to play 5-on-5 with contact for the first time Thursday and it gave the injury-riddled Nets a mental boost.
"The spirit was real good yesterday in practice," Atkinson said. "I'm kind of corny. I think that stuff carries over."
The Nets' roster was depleted Friday. In addition to the long-term injury absences of Irving and Kevin Durant, they were also without forward Wilson Chandler (left hamstring tightness) and shooting guard Garrett Temple (right knee contusion). Temple had been starting from mid-November to January while LeVert was rehabbing his thumb injury. Chandler has been a second-unit anchor for Brooklyn.
Atkinson pivoted by inserting Rodions Kurucs into the starting lineup. Kurucs went from regular rookie starter for the Nets last season, to having an inconsistent role that has included stints with Brooklyn's G League affiliate this season. Kurucs appeared in Brooklyn Criminal Court this week for a domestic violence case and is due back in court Feb. 11. He is accused of choking his girlfriend during an argument in June.
On Friday, Kurucs credited his G League stint with giving him confidence in his game. He finished with 19 points and three rebounds.
"He was huge for us," LeVert said of Kurucs. "He started off the game huge -- gave us a huge boost -- and it forced them to wake up faster."
Brooklyn is hopeful they will get another boost in the coming week with the potential return of Irving, Temple and Chandler. The Nets face the Hawks on Sunday.