It all began with a surge of frustration.
In Orlando, Michael Porter Jr. struggled in the fourth quarter, hitting just 1-of-6 shots as the Nets squandered a 16-point advantage. Tuesday’s home game against Boston was no better, with Porter managing only 1-of-3 from the field.
By the time Friday’s matchup at TD Garden arrived, the 27-year-old forward had reached his limit. With the Nets’ substantial 18-point lead dwindling to a tight 96-94, Boston was threatening to turn the tide with less than six minutes remaining.
However, a pivotal 3-pointer from Egor Dëmin halted the Celtics’ momentum, silencing the home crowd. From that decisive moment, Porter found his rhythm, hitting 7-of-8 shots to contribute the Nets’ final 14 points, securing the victory.
As the Nets’ 18-point lead dwindled to just 96-94 with less than six minutes to go in the final frame, a huge 3-pointer from Egor Dëmin put a silence on the Boston momentum.
From there Porter went on to shoot 7-of-8 for the Nets’ final 14 points.
The surge pushed Brooklyn to its biggest win of the season, a 113-105 victory over the Celtics.
The win that also saved them from NBA Cup elimination.
“It wasn’t just through the Orlando game this year that I felt like I wasn’t as aggressive as I should have been in the fourth,” Porter said after the win. “It was the last game against the Celtics, too. When I came back in for that last seven-minute stretch, I didn’t feel like I was aggressive enough.
“So [Friday], I didn’t want it to be déjà vu. I said, I’m going to go in there and be aggressive. Luckily, tonight, shots fell. I think as a team, we calmed down and we got into some good offense, and then we executed from there. Like I said, if we can do that, we can live with the makes and misses, as long as we’re settling down and getting into some action.”
Porter finished with a game-high 33 points, shooting 13-of-21 from the field, and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
It was his eighth consecutive game with at least 20 points on the board, his highest-scoring eight-game streak of his seven-year career.
Coach Jordi Fernández said there was no change in game plan to get Porter better looks. Rather, it was just execution on all ends to put him in those positions.
“I think Terance [Mann] set up the play. … Egor did a good job mixing up his actions where the defense had to do different things and Nic [Claxton] was the playmaker. So If you watched that, we ran the same action. I don’t know the times… I would say three to six times… four to six times. And we kept getting good results because Mike is a very good cutter. … And it was really fun to watch. And again, I mean I had no doubt that Mike has the ability to have games like this. And you know, it’s very efficient and I’m very happy and proud of him.”
The Nets will try to put an end to the Raptors’ six-game winning streak, including a four-game home win streak, on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena.
The streak started with Toronto’s 119-109 win over the Nets on Nov. 11.
For Sunday, Ben Saraf will remain out with a left ankle sprain.
Nic Claxton (left elbow sprain) and Egor Dëmin (neck/jaw soreness) are listed as probable.
