National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Brooklyn 89, Cleveland 82
When: 7:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 4, 2014
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Officials: #45 Brian Forte, #60 James Williams, #23 Jason Phillips
Attendance: 17732

Nets 89, Cavaliers 82: Deron Williams scored 21 points and Paul Pierce added 17 as host Brooklyn won a see-saw affair.

Andray Blatche chipped in 12 points off the bench for the Nets, who have won two straight following a 1-6 stretch. Reggie Evans contributed eight points and 11 rebounds while Joe Johnson - the hero with a buzzer-beater at Oklahoma City on Thursday - finished with two points on 1-of-7 shooting.

Dion Waiters came off the bench to score 26 points and C.J. Miles had 19 for the Cavaliers, who played their second straight game without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving (knee). Cleveland was 10-for-22 from 3-point range but made only 19-of-57 shots inside the arc.

Pierce had a 3-pointer early in the second quarter and then a layup to start an 8-0 burst that helped the Nets go up 51-38 at the break. He drained another 3-pointer just over a minute into the third before Cleveland took over, holding the hosts without a field goal for over seven minutes and taking a 65-62 lead on Waiters' basket in the closing moments of the period.

Mirza Teletovic hit one of his three 3-pointers to close the quarter and then added another with just over eight minutes left to give Brooklyn a 72-67 edge. Blatche scored three times in the ensuing three-plus minutes and added two free throws with 3:05 left to make it 82-74 as the Nets survived for their fourth straight home win over Cleveland.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nets F Kevin Garnett (rest) was given the night off. ... Pierce hit a layup early in the second to move past Allen Iverson and into 19th-place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. ... Cleveland is an NBA-worst 2-15 on the road.
Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland   Brooklyn
Dion Waiters 26 Scoring Deron Williams 21
Jarrett Jack 7 Assists Deron Williams 6
Anderson Varejao 12 Rebounds Reggie Evans 11
C.J. Miles 5 Free Throws Made Deron Williams 6
C.J. Miles 2 Steals Andray Blatche 1
Anderson Varejao 2 Blocks Paul Pierce 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland 82 36.7 10-22 14-20 14 45 3 4 14
Brooklyn 89 43.7 8-24 19-22 24 33 4 4 9
Upcoming Games
  • Brooklyn will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Nets have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game at home against Indiana. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .273 after a win and .364 after a loss.