Gaining Ground: Nets close within one game of first place
Though the Nets made no trades prior to Thursday afternoon’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, the Nets stated their case that they remain legitimate Eastern Conference contenders as presently constituted in Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
Deron Williams scored 23 points and handed out eight assists, C.J. Watson added 17 points off the bench and MarShon Brooks sparked a key run bridging the third and fourth quarters as Brooklyn bested the Bucks, 97-94, in front of 14,563 fans at the Bradley Center for its fourth consecutive win.
With Atlanta power forward Josh Johnson and Boston’s Paul Pierce being mentioned as potential targets for general manager Billy King, who indicated Tuesday that the Nets only had a 10 percent chance of making a deal prior to the deadline, Brooklyn’s current cast moved within one game of the suddenly slumping Knicks in the race for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Though it certainly didn’t come easy.