The NBA world was buzzing at Brook Lopez's expense Wednesday night.
Lopez was the unfortunate soul caught in the wake of the oncoming storm Larry Nance Jr. was bringing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Nance came crashing through the lane on the break and rose up over the 7-foot Lopez for a monstrous one-handed jam that even had the home Brooklyn Nets bench jumping in shock.
What no one was buzzing about, though, was the important part of the game.
That was the sweet cut from Lopez for a layup that gave the Nets a sizable lead in the fourth quarter. Or the points and rebounds he poured in to deliver Brooklyn a win.
Now, Lopez and the Nets are moving on to Friday's opponent, the Orlando Magic.
The Nets used a strong 32-21 fourth quarter to power their way to a 107-97 win over the Lakers, in a sometimes sloppy effort from the young team. Lopez scored eight of his 20 points and grabbed four of his seven rebounds in the fourth quarter to help propel Brooklyn to a win.
The Lakers had the highlight, but the Nets had the finish.
"We just stayed together and kept our concentration and focus," Lopez said. "There were lots of ups and downs. We weren't really at our best the entirety of the game, but we fought through it. We haven't done that at times before, but we definitely had to stick to it tonight."
The Nets kept their heads in the game despite that highlight play and their own struggles throughout the season. They found a way to win.
For the season, Brooklyn has been surprisingly good late in games. According to NBA.com, the Nets are 6-7 in games that are within five points with five minutes to play. They score 106.8 points per 100 possessions in those moments. Brooklyn, surprisingly, has been plenty able to score so far this season and score late in games to pull out a surprising number of wins.
The Magic took the Los Angeles Clippers to the brink heading into the fourth quarter Wednesday as the team tried to snap a five-game home losing streak. But their uncharacteristically strong offense let them down in the fourth quarter.
The Magic shot just 8 for 23 in the final quarter, giving up the first seven points and having to climb out of a deep hole against one of the league's best teams in a 113-108 loss.
Orlando fell just short of the upset.
"I think we kept pace," said Jeff Green, who scored 19 points in the game. "I just think we missed shots to give them that lead. We got some stops. But, at the end of the day, we missed some shots. ... We've just got to continue to take those shots. We know we can shoot them and if we miss again, they'll fall."
Unlike the Nets, the Magic have had some struggles late in games this year.
Orlando is 7-9 in games within five points in the final five minutes. The team's offense has struggled, posting a lowly 94.4 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions). The defense has struggled too with a 115.1 defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions).
The Magic have had to face the seventh-most close games this season and have struggled to pull out wins. That might explain the Magic's middling 11-16 record and the Nets' surprising 7-17 record.
