Nets demolish Heat 111-87 in bounce back effort

The Brooklyn Nets displayed superb energy and persistence defensively on their way to a 111-87 road win in Miami Friday night.

Miami had won seven of its last 10 while Brooklyn had lost seven of its last eight heading into the contest.

Joe Harris led Brooklyn with a career-high 21 points on 4-4 three-point shooting. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 18 points on 8-9 shooting from the field. Caris LeVert scored 12 points and dished out a career-high 11 assists.

The Nets were very effective offensively using the pick and roll. Brooklyn's guards showed great chemistry, moving well without the ball and finding each other on a number of backdoor cuts.

Josh Richardson led Miami with 19 points. Hassan Whiteside followed with 17 points.

Brooklyn allowed just 39 first half points en route to a 20-point halftime lead. Kenny Atkinson made sure his squad did not let up to start the second half. The Nets started the half with a 9-2 burst and led by as many as 38 points in the third quarter.

The Nets were active defensively the entire game, not allowing themselves to be screened on ball and trailing shooters tightly away from the ball. The three-point shot proved to be a huge difference. Brooklyn shot 11-26 (42.3%) while Miami shot just 3-26 (11.5%).

All of this coming off a game in which Brooklyn was abysmal defensively, allowing 128 points to New Orleans Wednesday night.

87 is the lowest scoring total Brooklyn has held an opponent to all season. Atkinson offered praise for the Nets defensive effort, “As upset as I was with our defensive performance against the Pelicans, we just turned the tables. It was a complete turnaround.”

Heat Head Coach Eric Spoelstra stated, "(The Nets) played very hard, competed on a different level than us." Shooting Guard Tyler Johnson added, "They wanted the game more than us."

The win brings Brooklyn to 13-22. The Nets will travel to Boston on New Years Eve before returning to Brooklyn for a five-game home stand.