Brooklyn Nets, suddenly unbeatable, deny Warriors road record

Kevin Garnett scored 11 in the fourth quarter and made a game-sealing steal with 12 seconds left to give Brooklyn their fourth straight win in 2014.

Joe Johnson, right, led the Nets with 27 points on Wednesday. Peter Foley / EPA

NEW YORK // The Road Warriors’ run is over. The Brooklyn Nets are suddenly the NBA’s hottest team.

Joe Johnson scored 27 points in the Nets’ season-high fourth straight victory, a 102-98 win Wednesday night that snapped Golden State’s 10-game winning streak and prevented the first 7-0 road trip in NBA history.

Kevin Garnett scored 11 of his 13 points, one of his best efforts in a Brooklyn uniform, in the final quarter and stole Stephen Curry’s pass with the Warriors down three with 12 seconds left as the Nets overcame an early 16-point hole.

“They came out and gave us a big blow in the first quarter. I thought we kept our composure and then fought back,” said Garnett, who was in double figures for just the sixth time this season.

“That’s a very good team that we played tonight and a very good team that we beat tonight.”

Shaun Livingston made the tiebreaking free throw with 1:12 left when he appeared to get away with hooking Curry, then Johnson made four in a row for just enough breathing room to allow the Nets to remain unbeaten in 2014 and climb into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Curry scored 34 points for the Warriors, who were bidding for a franchise-record 11th consecutive victory overall and the first unbeaten road trip of seven or more games in NBA history. But they didn’t make a field goal after Klay Thompson’s three-pointer with 4:07 remaining that gave them a 93-89 lead until Curry’s jumper with 5.8 seconds to go.

“Certainly a tough loss,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “Disappointed that we did not finish it the right way. Give them credit. It was a great job by them, but we will not lose sight of the fact that we were 6-1 on this road trip.”

Brooklyn scored nine straight points after Thompson’s basket as fans stood across the final minutes of one of the Nets’ most spirited efforts of the season – some taunting director and Knicks fan Spike Lee, who sat courtside wearing a hat in the Nets’ black-and-white colors but read “KNICKS.”

“We got down, but we didn’t give in,” said Andray Blatche, who had 17 points off the bench. “We continued to fight and we closed it out.”

Livingston finished with 13 points for the Nets, playing without point guard Deron Williams after he underwent treatment for both ankles this week. They will try to wrap up a perfect homestand Friday against Miami.

The Nets snapped a winning streak of 10 or more games for the third time in their NBA history, having ended Detroit’s 11-game run on January 31, 2006, and the SuperSonics’ 12-game streak on November 21, 1982, in Seattle.

David Lee scored 20 points for the Warriors, who ran out of gas just shy of the record books and had to settle for their second 6-1 road trip in the last two years.

Their trip started on December 29 in Cleveland, and included an impressive victory at Miami, but perhaps left the Warriors with too little left after a 101-80 win at Milwaukee on Tuesday.

“It’s a long road trip, but you can’t let that be an excuse for how the game ended,” Curry said. “We’ve got to find a way to win.”

Golden State made their first four three-pointers in racing to a 20-10 lead, and it was 32-16 after Harrison Barnes’ three-pointer made the Warriors 13-of-17 from the field and 5-of-6 behind the arc.

But Mirza Teletovic and Johnson hit threes before the period ended and the Nets forced Golden State to miss six straight shots to generate some momentum. Brooklyn then surged ahead late in the second with a 14-4 run, and brought a 59-52 lead to the locker room on Teletovic’s three that beat the buzzer.

“We just kept playing,” Livingston said. “I think we locked in. I mean, we were playing good D. They hit some shots, they came out guns blazing.”

Livingston’s dunk gave Brooklyn a 67-56 lead with 6:46 left in the third, but the Nets managed just eight free throws the rest of the period. Barnes’ three-pointer with 32 seconds left gave the Warriors a 76-75 lead to take to the fourth.

OTHER WEDNESDAY RESULTS

Spurs 112, Mavericks 90

Tony Parker had 25 points, including 14 in the third quarter, to give the San Antonio Spurs a big win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Parker added seven assists in 28 minutes as San Antonio notched a seventh straight win over their interstate rival.

San Antonio (28-8) led the whole game and used a 37-point third quarter to pull clear of the Mavericks en route to their third win in a row.

Guard Monta Ellis led Dallas (20-16) with 21 points. Forward Vince Carter added 14.

Hawks 97, Pacers 87

The Hawks jumped on Indiana early and led by 25 in the third quarter as they handed the NBA-leading Pacers their 12th consecutive regular-season loss in Atlanta.

Kyle Korver scored 17 points to lead five double-figure scorers for the Hawks (19-17) and extended his NBA record for consecutive games with a three-point basket to 105.

Paul George had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Indiana (28-7), who had won of eight of their past nine games and three in a row coming into the contest.

Indiana have not won a regular-season game in Atlanta since December 22, 2006.

Rockets 113, Lakers 99

James Harden scored a season high-tying 38 points and registered his third consecutive explosive third quarter in leading Houston to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

After scoring 16 points in the third against the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks, Harden poured in 17 points against the Lakers (14-22), keying a 33-point period that enabled Houston (23-13) to break the game open.

Dwight Howard added 20 points and 13 rebounds against the team he played for last season.

Nick Young paced the Lakers with 25 points.

Wizards 102, Pelicans 96

Trevor Ariza scored a team-high 21 points, including a key three-pointer to blunt a late Pelicans rally, and point guard John Wall scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half to lead the Washington Wizards past the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Wizards (16-17) outscored New Orleans 59-38 over the second and third quarters to break open the game.

Eric Gordon scored 23 to lead the Pelicans (15-19), who dropped their third straight game.

Raptors 112, Pistons 91

Kyle Lowry scored 21 points and added nine assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Detroit Pistons to win for the first time in three games.

DeMar DeRozan had 17 of his 19 points in the second half for the Raptors and Terrence Ross added 17 points as Toronto (17-17) won for the sixth time in eight games.

Brandon Jennings scored 22 points and added nine assists to lead the Pistons (14-22), who lost their sixth game in a row.

Suns 104, Timberwolves 103

Goran Dragic registered 26 points and nine assists while Channing Frye chipped in 22 to lead Phoenix (21-13) past Minnesota (17-18).

Kevin Love suffered through a miserable shooting night, making just 4-of-20 attempts in scoring 15 and pulling down 12 rebounds.

Nikola Pekovic also scored 17 and collected 12 rebounds in the loss.

Clippers 111, Celtics 105

Blake Griffin scored 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added six rebounds and eight assists to lead Los Angeles (25-13) over Boston (13-23), who lost their sixth straight and have dropped nine of their last 10.

DeAndre Jordan added a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and Jamal Crawford contributed 26 points.

The Celtics were led by guards Avery Bradley and Jordan Crawford, who had 24 points apiece.

Trail Blazers 110, Magic 94

Portland (27-9) entered the fourth quarter trailing by four, but blew out Orlando (10-25) in the frame by 20 to cruise to the win.

Nicolas Batum notched a rare triple-double, with 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Blazers. LaMarcus Aldridge led the hosts in scoring with 36 points on 16-of-25 shooting.

Jameer Nelson provided 17 points and 10 assists for the Magic, with Arron Afflalo leading their scoring effort with 22.

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