NEW YORK _ By now, the Nets have grown accustomed to making tough uphill climbs game after game, but more often than not reaching the summit of victory has eluded them lately. It happened again Wednesday night at Barclays Center as the Nets wiped out all but three points of a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit only to suffer a 100-95 loss to the Spurs.
San Antonio's Patty Mills hit his seventh 3-pointer of the game to give the Spurs their 15-point cushion to open the final period, but the Nets responded with a 15-4 run to cut the Spurs' lead to 83-79. Joe Harris hit a trio of 3s, and Allen Crabbe added a pair.
Spencer Dinwiddie, who hade made one of his first 10 shots then took over, scoring seven straight Nets points to cut their deficit to 91-88 with 2:16 left. Harris had a chance to tie the game at the 1:13 mark, but his 3-point attempt was errant. That was as close as the Nets got because they missed two of four foul shots in the final minute. It was their third straight loss and sixth in the past seven games.
Allen Crabbe led the Nets (16-29) with 20 points, Harris had 18, Caris LeVert added 13, DeMarre Carroll totaled 11 and 10 rebounds and Dinwiddie finished with nine points and 12 assists. But they were no match for the efficiency of LaMarcus Aldridge, who led the Spurs (30-16) with 30 points on 13 of 24 shooting, and Mills, who totaled 25 points on 7 of 8 shooting from 3-point range.
Normally, it's the Nets who are shorthanded because of injuries, but this time, it was the Spurs who were missing vital manpower. All-Star Kawhi Leonard was declared out because he has been experiencing pain in an injured quad and returned to rehab. Veteran Manu Ginobili sat out, and coach Gregg Popovich said minutes would be restricted for Tony Parker and Pau Gasol.
None of that mattered in the eyes of nets coach Kenny Atkinson. "With the Spurs, it's those letters across the chest that matter," Atkinson said. "They're such a well-oiled machine. They've been in many games where, if they have their third team out there, they can beat you by 20. They're missing some great players and all that, but it doesn't matter to me. They're a strong team, and we've to come back from that disappointing fourth quarter against the Knicks."
The Nets started well, taking an early eight-point lead, but the Spurs finished the opening quarter on a 20-7 run that was sparked by back-to-back 3s by Mills for a 31-26 lead. Harris scored seven points in a 9-1 Nets surge to tie the game at 35. But Mills stayed hot from distance, reaching halftime shooting 5-of-5 from 3-point range as the Spurs maintained a 51-46 lead.
Early in the third quarter, the Spurs took control with a 16-2 run that included eight points from Aldridge as they pushed their lead to 67-50. The Nets made only seven of 21 shots in the period.
