DALLAS _ For most of this season, Nets sharpshooter Allen Crabbe had been missing in action, buried in a deep shooting slump for which there seemed to be no way out. But Crabbe finally discovered his rhythm in the midst of a furious fourth-quarter comeback in which he hit four 3-pointers as part of a 27-point performance.
But that merely was the silver lining, the window dressing. The Nets cut a 10-point deficit to two, but the bottom line was they couldn't get over the hump in the second game of a back-to-back, falling to 0-5 in that situation after a 115-107 loss to the Mavs Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
After trailing by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, the Nets clawed their way back to tie the game at 85 on an Ed Davis layup early in the fourth quarter. But production was coming from all parts of the Mavs' roster as veteran guard Devin Harris warmed up to score eight straight points that restored a 95-87 Dallas lead, and that grew to 10 on a pair of free throws by Luka Doncic at the 5:16 mark.
That quickly shrank to a 103-99 lead with after Crabbe buried a pair of 3s in his fourth-quarter barrage, and a Jarrett Allen layup made it a two-point game with 4:03 left. But that was as close as the Nets got.
Crabbe shot 7 of 10 from 3-point range and totaled 12 of his 27 in the final period. The Nets (8-11) also got 19 points and seven assists from Spencer Dinwiddie, 17 points and nine rebounds from Ed Davis and 17 from D'Angelo Russell. Harrison Barnes topped the Mavs (8-9) with 28 points, Doncic added 21, and J.J. Barrea and Harris each totaled 18.
The Nets came into the game determined to improve on their record in the second game of a back-to-back set. As Nets coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters before the game, "I think that's the next step for us. Can we get over the physical barrier? Can we get over that mental barrier, which is the real thing. I'm really interested to see how our focus is after a good win last night (in Miami)."
But the Mavericks had their own theme, which was to beat the Nets after getting swept by them in two meetings last season. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle called it a "brutally tough game for us because we have not matched up well with these guys. They've beaten us the last (two) times. We've got to do better tonight."
Speaking of the Nets' 104-92 win the previous night in Miami, Carlisle added, "Typical Brooklyn with how they play. They keep attacking, they're relentless and they don't get discouraged if they're playing from behind. I've seen them do it many times. I've seen them do it against us. They hang in there."
They Nets ran into trouble early when center Allen, who spent his one college season at Texas, picked up two fouls in the first 1:27 and sat down. Backup Ed Davis came in and did a phenomenal job with 11 points and six rebounds to help the Nets keep it close, trailing 34-32, at the end of the opening period.
The Mavs opened the second quarter with a 19-7 run that was sparked by six points from Barrea to push their lead to 53-39. A 6-0 spurt allowed the Nets to get within 77-74 on a Davis layup.
It was the Nets being relentless and not getting discouraged just as Carlisle said before the game, and when Dinwiddie nailed a 3 just before the buzzer ending the third period, it was a four-point game and the Nets showed they weren't going away, tying the game early in the fourth period.
