All throughout the series, Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo has countered claims of his team being gutless by talking up the resiliency of the Nets.

That claim and counterargument were on display in two contrasting halves during Game 7 against the Bulls.

On one side was an awful first half which saw the Nets fall behind by 17 at halftime. On the other side was a spirited come back in the third quarter which shaved 10 points off of the deficit.

However, the first half ultimately came back to burn them as their first season in Brooklyn ended with a disappointing 99-93 loss on Saturday night.

“I think they had more energy than us in the first half and that really determined the game,” Brook Lopez said. “It’s tough; they just outplayed us. There really wasn’t anything specific that we really did and I think that falls back on me. It’s my job to contest the shots at the rim and back us up when we get beat. I just didn’t do that tonight.”

“They played like they wanted to keep playing, like they didn’t want their season to end,” Gerald Wallace added. “We didn’t do anything in the first half.”

They won 49 games to earn the right to host Game 7, but wound up losing to a team saddled with illness and injury. Chicago won with Derrick Rose not playing a minute, Kirk Hinrich missing the last three games with a calf injury, Luol Deng missing the last two with an illness and Joakim Noah playing through plantar fasciitis.

“We didn’t want to go out like that this,” Lopez said. “We competed, we got better this season. We achieved a lot of our goals, but not all of them. It’s very frustrating.”

“That’s a heckuva a hole to dig against a team that’s competing the way they’re competing,” Carlesimo said. “We really believed we could be the ninth team to come out of that [3-1] hole. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Most of the team is expected back next season but the status of Carlesimo remains uncertain even if players praised him for leading the team to a 38-23 record after replacing Avery Johnson on Dec. 28.

“I think he did a great job of leading us,” Deron Williams said. “I’d love to see him back but as you know that’s not up to me.”

The Nets could have given upper management more of a reason to keep Carlesimo but they encountered an unstoppable force in Noah.

Noah torched the Nets’ frontline for 16 points and five rebounds in the first half and 24 points and 14 rebounds overall. Marco Belinelli was also a force, scoring 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.

“It’s disappointing,” Williams said. “When we won Game 6, we felt like this was our series and they came out and played a great game.

“Noah is a warrior. He had a monster game and we really had no answer for him tonight.”

The best way the Nets could counter Noah’s dominance was by getting a standout performance from at least two of their big three.

It didn’t quite happen.

Lopez finished with 21 points but was 9-of-20, while Joe Johnson missed his first six shots and finished with six points on 2-of-14 shooting.

“I don’t make excuses,” Johnson said. “If I was out there on the floor, then I was able to go. So I don’t blame my foot for anything. It was just a terrible game.”

After they went 3-for-17 in the second half Thursday, the trio was a combined 7-for-21 in the opening half Saturday and 19-for-51 total in Game 7.

Williams finished with 25 points and seven assists but it was not enough.

The Nets scrapped their way back in the game by outscoring Chicago, 31-21, in the third quarter, highlighted by 11 points from Gerald Wallace. The rally brought the deficit to 82-75 entering the fourth but they couldn’t continue the momentum.

“We felt like it, being at home and the energy from the crowd if we could keep it going,” Wallace said. “We were down 17 at halftime and there’s only so much you can do and they came back with the fourth quarter.”

The Bulls also struggled scoring but they took an 84-76 lead when Carlos Boozer broke free from a double team and drove in for a layup. The Nets missed their first eight shots of the fourth quarter and fell behind by double digits (86-76) on Boozer’s easy layup as three defenders watched.

Brooklyn scored its first basket of the fourth quarter on Lopez’s tip in with 6:45 left and then cut it to 86-81 on a 3-pointer from Williams with 6:13 remaining just before Jimmy Butler could get over for the help defense.

Following a timeout and with the crowd at its loudest volume of the night, Boozer missed an open layup but Nate Robinson buried a deep jumper just before Lopez could close out for an 88-81 edge.

After Lopez missed a 15-foot jumper, Robinson missed a layup but the Bulls got the rebound and Belinelli made it a double-digit game by hitting a 3-pointer with 4:52 left.

The Nets again made it a single-digit game (91-83) when Johnson found a cutting Lopez for a layup but Noah glided to the hoop for another layup without much resistance. Wallace made it 93-85 with a layup at 3:01 and the Nets made it a five-point game on Williams’ hard drive and subsequent foul shot with 2:26 remaining.

The decibel level rose once again as the crowd implored the Nets to defend but they gave up another layup, this time to Belinelli. The Nets made it a five-point game with 1:17 to play on Lopez’s put back of a Wallace missed 3-pointer but could not cut it any further as Johnson badly missed a corner 3-pointer with 38.9 seconds remaining.

The Nets made it a four-point game (97-93) on Williams’ fourth 3-pointer of the night with 26.9 seconds remaining. After Belinelli sank two foul shots with 26.1 seconds to play, Williams badly missed a 3-pointer and Johnson airballed a 3-pointer and the Bulls celebrated while the Nets walked off the court in disappointment as the PA announcer wished the fans a happy summer.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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The Nets were anything but gutless in Game 6.

They weren’t perfect either, but they made enough plays to keep their season going for at least two more days.

Even with Chicago’s defense on lockdown mode in the fourth quarter and even with free throws missed at a disturbing rate, the Nets found a way in Thursday’s 95-92 win at the United Center.

It was hard to stomach sometimes, with Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson a combined 3-for-17 with five turnovers after halftime and an 11-of-23 performance from the line. The Nets scored just 35 points in the second half.

Andray Blatche, who scored 13 points in Game 5, came up big again. He had 10 points in Game 6, including a spinning fadeaway shot on Joakim Noah with 1:15 left and two free throws with 19.2 remaining to provide the final margin.

All of the talk about being gutless surfaced again when TNT’s Charles Barkley said it on the halftime show because the Nets had a six-point halftime lead instead of double digits. While they could have been ahead by more after shooting well in the half, having a lead in the United Center was a victory of sorts, especially considering how the previous four visits went.

Johnson, Williams and Lopez had 17 points apiece. Gerald Wallace had 15, including a 3-pointer early in the fourth that gave the Nets a 78-73 edge and provided them with the breathing room they ultimately would need.

Chicago played without Kirk Hinrich (calf) and Luol Deng (illness). Belinelli led the Bulls with 21 points. Nate Robinson had 18, Jimmy Butler added 17 and Carlos Boozer and Noah added 14 apiece.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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In the postseason, especially in dire situations, someone else besides the stars often needs to deliver significant production. For the Nets in Game 5, that someone was backup center Andray Blatche.

Blatche scored 10 of his 13 points in fourth quarter and the Nets survived for another three days by pulling out a 110-91 victory over the Bulls Monday night.

“My main thing was I wanted to get the ball deep in the paint and just be aggressive,” Blatche said. “That’s kind of what I did. I stayed in attack mode.”

“He has done it throughout the season,” Brook Lopez said. “He is definitely capable of it and we are definitely going to need that performance again.”

Blatche finished with his most points in a playoff game and his third career double-digit postseason game. His biggest performance as a Net came despite struggling with calf pain.

“We didn’t want it to end,” Blatche said. “Nobody is ready to go home. We still feel like we have an opportunity to make it to the second round and we want to continue to fight to get to that round.”

Blatche also grabbed four of his five rebounds in the fourth quarter while helping a defensive effort which limited Chicago’s starting frontcourt of Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah to six points and three rebounds in the quarter.

“I thought he was doing a good job,” Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “I just thought he was playing very well. The biggest thing was his shot selection was excellent. He didn’t settle for jump shots unless the clock was on his back. He took the ball to the basket. He was aggressive. I thought in the second half, he defended much better than he did in the first half. He was playing very, very well.”

Blatche played virtually the entire fourth quarter, helping the Nets expand on a nerve-racking 77-74 lead for their fans. He had played just 8:33 and taken two shots in the opening 36 minutes but early in the period, as Deron Williams was getting a rest for the stretch run, Blatche helped the Nets maintain their lead and ensured Brooklyn would have two days to prepare for Game 6 Thursday night in Chicago.

His first basket came after a floating jumper by Nate Robinson cut the lead to 79-78. It was the result of a nice hustle play, as Blatche seized Kris Humphries’ missed jumper and converted the layup for an 81-78 lead.

Blatche’s next basket came in transition after Gerald Wallace forced Taj Gibson into a turnover. Wallace found Blatche with a nice outlet pass and the big man converted a finger roll for an 83-78 lead.

After Luol Deng hit a step back jumper from the left elbow, Blatche grabbed another offensive rebound and converted a short jumper to make it 85-80. Blatche later converted two foul shots after getting flagrantly fouled by Marco Belinelli with 6:56 left and hit another jumper less than a minute later.

Blatche’s minutes came at the expense of Reggie Evans, who grabbed 12 rebounds in 24 minutes. When Blatche exited to a standing ovation with 55.2 seconds left and the Nets up by 15, Evans embraced him.

“I was happy as hell,” Evans said. “I’m not really concerned about his calf right now. I know he’s going to play and he ain’t going to let us down. He’s my boy and he came through in the clutch.

“That just shows the unity in this room. There ain’t no hating. There’s all love and there may be games where I’m going to finish the games out but for him to stay focused, he’s going through so much this year and to stay poised, I’m grateful for him to be ready and do what he did and [he was] right on time.”

The Nets were up 91-84 with six minutes to play, but that can be an eternity in the fourth quarter of an NBA playoff game. But unlike Saturday, they did not wilt, getting a few highlight plays to close the game out properly.

The final minutes were the biggest challenge but instead of rehashing the last fourth quarter they played, the tone during timeouts was business-like with a focus on making the plays that eluded them Saturday and in the other two losses.

“We didn’t want to say much,” Williams said. “After the last game, it was pretty evident what we needed to do and that was close the game out and I thought we did a great job of it.”

“[We were] not necessary angry but more aware, just basically focused on closing this game,” Blatche said. “We got up. We wanted to keep the lead and not make mental mistakes and close the game out and I think we did a great job of that.”

Wallace hit maybe the biggest two shots — a 3-pointer in front of Chicago’s bench with 2:18 left, followed by a steal of Robinson’s pass and a transition dunk to make it 103-91 with two minutes left.

Williams scored 12 of his 23 points in the third quarter, looking like the player who aggressively slashed to the basket in Game 1. Lopez struggled to get deep post position at times against Joakim Noah but still managed a 28-point game.

Robinson led the Bulls with 20 points but after getting 23 in the fourth quarter Saturday, he scored just four down the stretch Monday night.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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In Game 2 and 3, Deron Williams struggled in replicating his strong showing on shots from 10 feet or less. Many times when he tried to do something, Kirk Hinrich was shadowing him.

Williams didn’t have that problem Monday as Hinrich sat out with an injured left calf he suffered Saturday which left him in a walking boot.

In Brooklyn’s first two losses, Williams shot 6-for-23 and the Nets shot well under 40 percent. In Game 4, Williams was 9-for-14 through three quarters but missed nine of last 11 shots in the fourth quarter and overtimes.

“It’s difficult,” Hinrich said to reporters at Chicago’s morning shootaround. “Nobody wants to miss playoff games. There’s no question, this is what you look to all year. There’s nothing really I can do at this point, other than just continue to try and improve it every day and see how it goes.”

Hinrich has shot 16-of-34 in Chicago’s three wins after opening the series with a 0-for-3 night. However, it is defensively where he has shined by fronting Williams.

He has kept Williams out of the paint and limited his aggressiveness after he was 7-for-9 on shots from 10 feet or less. It also has limited his ability to find Brook Lopez for post-ups.

Now it’s up to the Nets to capitalize even if it means exposure to the potential explosiveness of Nate Robinson.

“He’s one of those guys that can get it going and get in a zone,” Carlesimo said. “It doesn’t matter — good shots, bad shots, bank shots — whatever he’s doing it can go in.”

Nets comment on Jason Collins

Jason Collins began his career with the Nets just as the team experienced a renaissance in 2001-02. He played six and a half seasons with New Jersey before joining five other teams.

That’s not why he was in the news Monday. In this week’s upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated, he wrote an op-ed stating he is coming out as gay and didn’t think he could do so 10 years ago.

“I just think the NBA reflects society and I think society hopefully is a lot more mature or accepting or ready for acting the way we should act right now,” Carlesimo said. “That implies we weren’t ready in ’03. I don’t know if it happened in ’03 it would have been any different. I think it’s great that Jason did it. It’s extremely courageous on his part but I think the NBA will react very, very well.

“We’re only a tiny part but I think they will react very, very well. I don’t know if I could say, ‘Oh god, I’m glad this didn’t happen in ’03, we wouldn’t have been ready then.’ I think we very well could have been then. I hope that we would react even better than the rest of society. We’re a little bit part of society but given the family aspect and what we all do together every year, I think we could handle it a lot better.”

Several former teammates used Twitter to express their support, including Jason Kidd and Bostjan Nachbar.

Kidd said: “Jason’s sexuality doesn’t change the fact that he is a great friend and was a great teammate.”

Nachbar said: “I’m surprised but happy for big fella to get it off his chest.”

As for the current Nets, general manager Billy King issued the following statement:

“Jason Collins was a vital member of the New Jersey Nets for six and a half years, and as an executive with a competing NBA team, I always respected the standard he set for team play and the example he set for the league in playing with integrity and purpose. He exemplifies everything we look for in players, and for those players and associates within our organization, our primary focus is creating the most accepting and respectful environment for everyone to succeed.”

Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson also issued brief statements:

“It’s an honor for me to call Jason Collins a friend,” Lopez said. “I admire his dignity as well as his courage to come out. I’ll always have his back.”

“Jason Collins was one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Johnson said. “I respect his tremendous courage to come out and will always support him.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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The plantar fasciitis Joe Johnson was dealing with during February and early March has returned and with the Nets currently tied at one game apiece in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with Chicago it is something Johnson has been forced to accept and cope with.

Johnson did not practice Wednesday and the Nets are officially listing him as a game-time decision, though Johnson and interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo did not sound alarmed and seem to believe the shooting guard will play Thursday night.

“Hopefully, [I can play],” Johnson said. “This is valuable for us. We’ve battled. We’ve been through ups and downs the whole year. I’m going to do whatever I can to be out there.”

“It’s unfortunate but injuries happen and hopefully he’s going to be OK,” Carlesimo said. “If he’s not, other guys have to pick it up.”

In his first two playoff games as a Net, Johnson is 13-for-31 from the field. He started Game 2 3-for-5 in the first quarter, but was 3-for-13 the rest of the game.

According to Johnson, at some point in the first quarter the ailment flared up again. He did not specify the exact moment in the period but from the 6:04 mark to the 1:34 mark, Johnson hit a fastbreak layup, a nine-foot floating jumper and a 3-pointer.

His final shot of the first quarter was a missed 3-pointer, which began a stretch of eight straight misses until a 3-pointer with 5:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.

“That’s no excuse, man,” Johnson said. “It was definitely a game that got away that we should’ve won. I’m a little sore but I’ll be able to give them what I got.”

Johnson missed four games with what the team said was a sore let heel and seemed to be over it but said it lingered and that it was a small amount of plantar fasciitis. Since these games significantly more crucial than regular season games in the middle of the winter, there is little time to cope with it other than just rest and treatment.

“I think it may have been a little bit of plantar fasciitis in February when it first started,” Johnson said. “Now it’s deep into the plantar fasciitis. It’s just something I’ll have to fight through.

“It lingered here and there. I had my good days and bad days. It’s just something that needs rest and I don’t have time for it right now.”

Johnson is not the only player in this series dealing with a painful foot injury. Chicago’s Joakim Noah has played nearly 40 minutes with a foot injury while totaling 15 points and 15 rebounds but, as Johnson pointed out, the duties of a shooting guard are vastly different than a center.

“I’m chasing guys off screens, penetrating [and] cutting,” Johnson said. “He’s a big man, so it’s a lot different.”

And like Noah, even though both were considered game-time decisions, nobody is expecting Johnson to sit.

“Oh, he’ll play,” Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters at Bulls’ practice. “Don’t worry.”

Adjustments critical for Williams

For many players the best defense mechanism about a bad performance is to merely shrug it off and chalk it up to “one of those days.” That’s the method Deron Williams selected when discussing his 1-for-9 showing in Game 2.

“I had a bad game,” Williams said. “It happens. Relax.”

The Nets will hardly be in a position to relax if it happens again. The main cause was the constant double teams he faced in various pick-and-roll situations and away from the basket.

“They got two people on him, particularly in the pick and rolls,” Carlesimo said. “He was able to split it a lot but they got two people on him. When he comes off screens, they got two people on him and he saw a loaded floor, which they do. When you get into the paint, there’s people there. There’s three, four or five people there. I’m sure they did some things different. I think it was more they did things better.”

In the times that he did not face a double team, Williams missed four open 3-pointers by his count. In Game 1 he made two 3-pointers and attacked the rim, as he was 7-for-9 on shots from 10 feet or less as opposed to his 1-for-3 showing in that category Monday.

“I missed shots and let them dictate what I was doing a little bit and just got a little passive but I’ll be fine,” Williams said. “I had four open 3s that I missed. I make those, that’s 12 more points and we’re not even talking about it.”

And it seems the best way to counter the slew of defenders is to drive to the rim with more aggressiveness like Williams did on Saturday.

“Be aggressive but read what’s there from the defense and when it’s appropriate and when you can get it to the rim and when we want you to attack — attack,” Carlesimo said of how Williams can respond. “When it’s not, take what they give us.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Deron Williams has participated in 630 regular season and postseason games since entering the NBA in 2005. Like any other prominent player, he has experienced poor shooting nights but none as poor in a big spot as Game 2.

Williams was 1-for-9 from the field while going against a variety of defenders, including Kirk Hinrich whom he often eluded in Game 1. The one previous time he struggled in a playoff game was when he was in foul trouble and went 1-for-11 in Game 5 of the 2007 Western Conference semifinals against Golden State. But Derek Fisher and others stepped up in a 13-point win that night.

Nobody stepped up Monday due to a combination of poor execution and a lack of adjustments to Chicago’s defense.

After an ugly performance evened the series, Williams promised to be better and a day later, interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo backed up his point guard.

“I think he’ll bounce back because he’s an excellent player,” Carlesimo said on a conference call. “He’s been on a great run. They did a good job of getting people to him an awful lot of the time and when he penetrated, they did a good job contesting his shots.

“He wasn’t able to finish at the rim effectively but a lot of it was that he took a couple of threes late too. It is what it is too and Deron, he missed shots, he had an off game [and] he’s got to play better. He’s going to be fine.”

Before Monday, the last time Williams was held to one field goal was a 1-for-12 showing on March 17, 2011 in an 83-74 loss to the Bulls at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Only three Bulls who appeared in the game will be in the series (Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson). The rest of the Bulls included Derrick Rose, Kurt Thomas, Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer and current teammates Keith Bogans and C.J. Watson.

Of course, Williams did not quite have the talent around him that he has now. He had Brook Lopez but the Nets’ starting two guard that night was Anthony Morrow while Kris Humphries and Damion James were the starting forwards.

Only three Bulls who appeared in the game will be in the series (Joakim Noah and Luol Deng and Taj Gibson). The rest of the Bulls included Derrick Rose, Kurt Thomas, Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer and current teammates Keith Bogans and C.J. Watson.

That night Williams was hounded by Rose, but the next time he takes the court, he will face the same array of multiple defenders. It will be up to him to make those decisions and find those who may have better scoring opportunities if Williams has similar encounters with Chicago’s defense.

“I think he has a good sense of [calling plays], and I think it’s always a back-and-forth with us,” Carlesimo said. “In the timeouts [the coaches are] normally going to call something, and when we’re going in the flow and when we’re effective, we just let it go, and Deron makes a real high percentage of the calls.

“We’ll talk any time there’s a dead ball when it’s appropriate, but for the most part, he’s gonna make the calls. When it’s a night when we’re struggling, then it is more of a challenge, but I don’t think it’ll be any different [in Game 3] and I don’t think it’s an adjustment. We’ll watch the tape. We’ll talk to him about what we see. We’ve got two days to go, but he’s way above average in terms of his feel for what’s working, what’s not working, who needs to be more involved, who hasn’t had a shot in a while, who’s got a favorable matchup. Some point guards are very comfortable with doing that, and he’s way above average in terms of what he sees on the floor and getting us into the sets we need to be in.”

Chicago’s defense forced the Nets to take 21 3-pointers. The team took at least 20 in 53 games during the regular season. The Nets won 31 of those games and were 23-11 under Carlesimo when attempting at least 30 3-pointers. In games where they missed at least 15 3-pointers, the Nets are 15-19.

A high volume of 3-point attempts does not necessarily bother Carlesimo. Rather it is how they develop that is more of priority.

“It’s very important but at the same time if we’re moving ball, particularly getting it to the other side of the floor and guys have open shots and are making them, that’s more time and score situation,” Carlesimo said. “I think if we do move the ball and it’s appropriate and we’re getting it to the weak side and the looks are good.”

George wins Most Improved Player

Nobody on the Nets was expected to win this award so it wasn’t a surprise when Indiana forward Paul George was named the league’s Most Improved Player with 52 out of 120 possible first-place votes.

However, the voting did contain some Nets as Andray Blatche picked up one first-place vote as he played in all 82 games for the first time in his career, while Lopez picked up a third-place vote after his first All-Star season.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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This was the style the entire world expected in a playoff game between the Nets and Bulls. There would be no more pushing the tempo and running up and down the court for transition baskets like Game 1.

Instead the Nets found themselves in a grinding postseason game that had several similarities to their four regular season games against the Bulls, when they didn’t score more than 90 points in any one.

A late run at the end of the first half seemed to indicate they could but a slow start in the second half eventually doomed the Nets to a 90-82 loss last night, ensuring they will play a fifth game seven days from now at home.

“It’s a tough loss,” Deron Williams said. “They were definitely the aggressor this game where we were the aggressor in Game 1. They brought it to us. They had more energy than us and they just played better than us.”

Now they will have to play two games in Chicago, with Game 3 coming Thursday night and Game 4 taking place Saturday afternoon.

The Nets started 2-for-9 then went 16-for-30 to get within one at halftime on a C.J. Watson buzzer-beating 3-pointer. It was among the few times they did not encounter resistance from Chicago’s vaunted defense.

The Nets missed their first five shots of the second half and went 2-for-19 with 11 points in the third quarter.

“We had our frontline guys,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “Their defense was very good and our execution was not as good as it needs to be and we were taking the ball out of bounds too many times. So all things contributed to it and when we got back in it, it was because we got a couple of stops.”

“That was the quarter that definitely did it to us,” Williams said.

Carlesimo tried to stage a comeback with Joe Johnson and four reserves to start the fourth. The group got within 73-68 on a short jumper from Andray Blatche with 7:55 remaining to bring the crowd back into it.

Deron Williams checked in with the hopes of completing the comeback, but the rally got halted briefly by a Joakim Noah dunk and a Nate Robinson 3-pointer.

The Nets reinserted Brook Lopez into the game to have him play with Blatche, Watson, Johnson and Williams. The Nets made it a four-point game on a 3-pointer from Joe Johnson with 4:12 remaining and again a minute later on a Lopez open layup.

Brooklyn could never get any closer as Deng and Noah secured the win with timely baskets while the Nets missed eight of their final nine shots to finish at 35.4 percent (29-for-82) for the game.

“It was basically the same [defense],” Johnson said. “Obviously they picked it up. We just didn’t have the continuity and the flow we had the first game.”

The Nets rarely developed a consistent rhythm offensively, epitomized by Williams, who scored eight points on 1-for-9 shooting. Williams missed his first six shots before he hit a long jumper with 6:35 remaining in the third.

“I didn’t play good,” Williams said. “I’m not going to play like this again.”

Unlike Game 1, he was not able to get to the rim for easy layups and when he was unable to do, it led to passive offense and contested jump shots.

Johnson was not much better. He missed his first four shots of the second half, finishing with 17 points on 6-for-18 shooting. Lopez led the Nets with 21, but he did not seem as assertive as Game 1 when he started with blocks on Carlos Boozer and Noah in the opening three minutes. He faced a version of Noah who seemed to be moving and jumping better after being limited to 13 1/2 minutes.

The Nets scored 56 points on 28-for-38 points in the paint Saturday but this time the number dropped to 30 on 15-of-36 and during the second half, the Nets were 6-for-19 in the paint.

“They kept us out of the paint tonight,” Keith Bogans said. “They did a good job of keeping our points in the paint down. In Game 1, it seemed like we were getting a lot of layups, easy points in the paint, but today they just stepped it up defensively all the way around the board.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Just over two minutes into his first career playoff game, Brook Lopez stepped in front of Carlos Boozer as the Chicago power forward inched closer to the basket. Lopez did not concede any space and as Boozer got within five feet, he blocked the shot.

Less than a minute later Lopez did it again, denying Joakim Noah an easy layup.

Those two blocks established a strong defensive tone and in their first playoff game at the Barclays Center, the Nets led by as many as 28 points in a mostly dominant 106-89 victory on Saturday night.

“I was excited and very anxious because I’ve been waiting for this for a while and was very pleased with the results,” Lopez said. “The energy was electric and it was a lot of fun, especially with the team playing at a high level.”

“It feels good knowing that you can Lo (Lopez) back there to do stuff like that,” forward Reggie Evans said. “I think it’s good for him also, knowing he can get some key blocks like that. It’s great.”

Before the game veteran reserve Jerry Stackhouse sang the national anthem and Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov, while wearing a dark black suit to adhere to the “Blackout in Brooklyn” theme, addressed the crowd by saying:

“I heard there was a blackout in Brooklyn. I came to keep lights on … Thank you for passion and support.”

Then the real show started in the first postseason pro sports game played in Brooklyn since Game 7 of the 1956 World Series at Ebbets Field as a fired up Nets team came very close to setting franchise record for fewest points allowed in the first quarter and first half in their postseason history in front of a frenzied crowd that was loud from start to finish without much encouragement from the sound system.

“I think we used the words locked in and I think we locked in today,” Deron Williams said. “From shootaround, we focused on our plays and schemes. It all carried over to tonight and hopefully we can do the same thing the next night and not just our first playoff game.”

It also featured a solid performance from Brooklyn’s trio of Lopez, Williams and Joe Johnson. They combined for 59 points on 23-of-43 from the field with each player scoring in different ways.

Lopez scored 19 of his 21 in the dominant first half, heating up after a 2-for-6 start. He scored on mostly post-ups and mid-range shots while also spreading the floor after passing out of double teams.

“I have so much confidence to the point where I know he’s going to bring it every night,” Evans said. “I won’t worry about him. It’s typical Lo (Lopez), he’s here early, ready to roll and he did what he did.”

“I’ve been on Brook all year about when we get two on the ball on my penetration, just run right to the rim because he’s going to get easy baskets,” Williams said. “He’s done a great job of paying attention and learning and growing as a player.”

Williams scored 15 of his 22 in the first half, highlighting his first playoff game in three years with a reverse dunk that saw him execute a double pump move late in the third quarter that shocked Evans and had him going ‘whoa, are you serious’.

“He’s just playing at an extremely high level,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “He pushed the ball, he distributed, he defended and he played extremely well.”

When Williams wasn’t doing that, other highlights included a 3-pointer after doing a shoulder fake that sent Kirk Hinrich out of bounds as well as several easy transition layups, allowing the Nets to push the pace against a team they did not score 90 points against during four regular season meetings.

Johnson scored 16 points but the Nets did not need to run many sets for him because o the work performed on the defensive end in the early minute.

The Nets held the Bulls to 30.4 percent shooting in the first half and didn’t allow Chicago to score its 10th point until there was 4 ½ minutes remaining. The Nets had a three-point lead at the time but by the time the Bulls reached 20 points, the lead swelled to nine and when Chicago finally reached 30 points late in the first half, Brooklyn had a 19-point deficit.

The defensive tone established in the opening 12 minutes did not necessarily neutralize Boozer (25 points, eight rebounds) but it certainly seemed to adversely impact Noah and Luol Deng, who were a combined 5-for-17 and scored just 10 points.

“(We can be) very dangerous,” Johnson said. “This is probably the best game we played all season.”

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The Nets current roster has 270 games of playoff experience ranging. The most significant player without any experience is center Brook Lopez.

Saturday is a culmination of long process that followed the transition from the Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson years to the move from New Jersey.

Along the way, he played every game for a team that lost its first 16 games and 70 overall in 2009-2010. He has heard his name mentioned way too many times for anyone to count in rumors about Dwight Howard.

Other events include playing in three different zip codes (Newark, N.J., East Rutherford, N.J. and Brooklyn) hearing all about the future in Brooklyn and learning about the future home where he would become an All-Star for the first time.

“It’s really been an amazing journey,” Lopez said. “It’s very surreal to think of the power point presentations they’d show us when the management would come in and show us renderings of the Barclays Center and all the those factoids about how big Brooklyn is and all that stuff and everything.

“I can’t wait,” Lopez said. “I’ve been very anxious, waiting for it while playing through these last few games. And now that it’s on the horizon, I’m very excited about it.”

Lopez has a lot to do with why the borough will be hosting its first postseason game since Game 7 of the 1956 World Series. His consistent production is among the reasons why the Nets are hosting their first playoff game since May 18, 2007.

“He’s had an All-Star year,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “He’s shooting the ball well from the perimeter, he’s finishing inside and he’s getting to the free-throw line. He’s night and day better defensively, in terms of the way he protects the rim.”

So do his teammates think he’ll be ready to step up for the biggest games of his career?

“Hell yeah,” Reggie Evans said.

Evans has been in the league for 11 years and played with big men such as Blake Griffin, but what he sees from Lopez is a work ethic and focus that makes the Nets fully trust their 2008 first-round pick.

“Brook is showing you everything,” Evans said after Thursday’s practice. “Brook’s a whole different person and when I say that, that’s in a good way. Nobody is stopping him. The only person that can stop Brook is Brook, that’s it. Brook is on a mission.

“His focus is there. He’s there early on game day. His focus in practice is there. His determination is there. So he’s my least concern in being ready. I’ve been kind of prepping him like, ‘Hey man, the atmosphere is going to be different.’ But he ain’t showing me no signs like he’s not ready. He’s ready to step up to the plate.”

Nets playing their best

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is fond of saying you want to be playing your best entering the playoffs. Judging by how the Nets finished the regular season, it seems that they are adhering to Coughlin’s viewpoint.

The Nets won six of their last seven games after losing by two to Chicago on April 4. The loss was one of just six the Nets had in their last 18 games.

“I think we’ve been playing pretty good,” Johnson said. “The ball has been moving great. Guys have been on the same page. At this time of the year when you’re clicking and jelling and that cohesiveness is there, it’s perfect timing for us. So we take some of this momentum into the postseason and try to make something happen.”

In 2006, the Nets won 49 games, the same amount as this year. To reach that point, they peaked in March with a 14-game winning streak and 17 wins in their last 22 games.

There was not one moment where everything seemed to click but if there is one key reason it is health.

Deron Williams has been a different player since taking the week before the All-Star break off to rest his ankles. Joe Johnson has better lift in his heel and during the four-game winning streak that locked up the fourth seed, he shot 27-for-58 (46.5 percent).

“I think everybody is semi-healthy now,” Williams said. “And for the first time in a long time, we have everybody at full strength. So, we are definitely excited about that and feel confident that when we are playing at our highest level, we are tough to beat.”

Williams is so healthy that although the Bulls like to slow things down, he said he plans on attempting to push the pace whenever possible.

“We want to get up and down,” he said. “I think we have to. We can’t just let them set up their defense. If we let them get into a half court game, it’s going to be tough.”

Looking back at Chicago

The Nets and Bulls played four games this season. If you take anything from the regular season into the playoffs, Chicago won three of those four.

But the four games against the Bulls were decided by a combined 21 points and the three losses by the Nets have differing characteristics.

“We’ve been right there and had opportunities,” Lopez said. “I think it could easily be 3-1 the other way. It’s going to be physical, but I think we’re ready for it.”

“That’s going to be a tough series,” Johnson said. “They’re a hard-nosed team, a blue collar team, hard-working and a great defensive team. So we got to be on our P’s and Q’s, hitting on all cylinders. In the playoffs you can’t take a possession off.”

Nobody knows if Derrick Rose will play and so far, the Nets have not practiced anything related to his presence.

“You’re not gonna simulate the things he does,” Carlesimo said. “He was arguably the best player in the league when he last played, but they play so much quicker when he’s on the floor and they’re so much more disruptive defensively. The things Derrick makes happen, you can’t simulate.”

New atmosphere

When the Dodgers were making six World Series appearances against the Yankees from 1947-56, the raucous atmosphere at Ebbets Field was highlighted by Hilda Chester’s cowbell and the Dodger “symphony band.”

The Barclays Center is located at the site where Walter O’Malley wanted to build his new stadium and on Saturday night, the Nets are hoping the atmosphere will be just as noisy, but in a different way. In keeping with the theme of black uniforms and black seats in the building, the team is marketing the playoffs by urging fans by calling it a “Blackout in Brooklyn.”

On the front page of their website is a picture of Williams with the words: “Hello Playoffs, Show Your Brooklyn Pride! Represent the Home Team by Wearing Black”

Since the last Nets home playoff game, the Bulls have hosted 17 games and won 11. In the last two years, the Bulls have been the top overall seed.

“Like us, it’s going to be a new experience for the people in the building,” Carlesimo said. “So I think that’s part of it. I think that in New York or Chicago or where they’ve had playoff games before, that experience will be evident. It’ll be evident when we get to the United Center.

“Our fans have been great. I think … it’ll be a fantastic atmosphere. I’ve said all along, we’ve got to give them a reason to make a noise.”

The Nets are also trying to keep the theme of black with their uniforms. They are trying to lobby the league to wear black home jerseys as opposed to the normal white teams wear on their home courts.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher throughout the playoffs.

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Before the Nets concluded their first regular season in Brooklyn, rookie Tyshawn Taylor took the microphone and addressed the crowd. After thanking them for their support, Taylor said the team planned on taking care of business in the postseason.

The first order of business is now beating the Bulls.

While the Nets closed out the regular season with a 103-99 victory over the Pistons, they learned their first playoff opponent in six years will be the Bulls with Game 1 at the Barclays Center on Saturday night.

During the regular season, Brooklyn dropped three of four meetings to the Bulls. The last was a 92-90 setback two weeks ago in Brooklyn but since that point the Nets won six out of seven to reach 49 wins while Chicago split its final eight games and finished 45-37.

“They’re an excellent team,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “They beat us three out of four. They’re really experienced. They’re an excellent defensive team, an excellent defensive team. It’s going to be a helluva challenge.”

The Nets will oppose the Bulls for the second time in the postseason. The previous instance was as an eight seed in 1998, which resulted in a three-game sweep for the Bulls en route to their sixth championship with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and head coach Phil Jackson.

“It’s going to be fun,” center Brook Lopez said. “They’re a physical team, a very aggressive team. We’ll have to try to match their intensity, but I think we’ve got the right group of guys, the right passion, the right drive and we’ll be all right.”

“I’m excited about being back in the playoffs after not being there the last couple of years,” point guard Deron Williams said. “I’m ready to go.”

On Monday, it appeared Atlanta was the likely opponent. Atlanta had a half-game lead over Chicago but failed to secure that matchup with the Nets by getting blown out in Toronto Tuesday.

Atlanta seemed to concede the fifth spot by resting its starting lineup and then lost by six by against the Knicks, who also sat several key players. Chicago played all of its key players and started quickly before holding off the Wizards, a result that ultimately proved irrelevant since the Hawks lost.

The Nets did not pull the same rest tactic as the Hawks. They did that on Monday but chose to limit the minutes of Williams, Lopez and Joe Johnson, who saw 21 minutes apiece and combined on 13-for-28 shooting.

“The main thing was to get a good run for the guys who didn’t play the other day,” Carlesimo said. “They all got 20 minutes.”

The trio played the entire first quarter when the Nets sprinted out to an 11-point lead. They sat for the whole second quarter as the lead increased to 60-48 and returned for most of the third quarter as the lead expanded to 83-66.

The alternating quarters for the starters was part of the plan to get those players a sweat during a run of full-contact, full-court action. Had they sat for a second straight game, they would have gone nearly a week without playing a regular game and with only a few practices.

Lopez, who will be attempting to provide offense against Chicago big men Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, led the Nets with 20 points and nine rebounds. Johnson had 10 and Williams, who may or may not be opposing Derrick Rose, had eight points and six assists.

The reserves were led by Andray Blatche, who scored 15 points, including his third 3-pointer of the season. Kris Humphries added 11 points and seven rebounds.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Not including the Nets’ current two-week absence from the Barclays Center due to the presence of the circus, there have been 30 road trips in the NBA consisting of at least five games.

During those trips, teams have posted winning records just seven times and not surprisingly the best performances have been achieved by NBA elite such as Miami and San Antonio. Miami swept a five-game road trip in mid-March during its 27-game winning streak while San Antonio won seven of nine during its annual rodeo trip that was broken up by the All-Star break.

The Nets have a chance to enter that minority with a win Wednesday night in Cleveland, a game that occurs the night before a home game with Chicago in a potential battle for home-court advantage in a No. 4 vs. No. 5 postseason matchup.

So far, the trip has gone mostly well with four wins in seven games. The Nets won games against sub-500 competition in Detroit and Phoenix and pulled off victories in Dallas and Portland, two teams with losing records but near the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The losses were a close game to the Clippers, a blowout in Denver and in the second night of a back-to-back in Utah. That sent the trip from 4-1 to 4-3 which is still decent, but still slightly disappointing for the Nets.

“We were above .500,” Deron Williams said after the team made a brief stop in East Rutherford, N.J. for practice Tuesday. “We lost to three playoff teams and two of the best home teams that there are in the game, so those are two hard games to win at the end of a road trip. But we wish we would have finished a little bit better.”

“We want to finish on an upswing and the seven games we played on the trip, we didn’t finish on an upswing,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “We were on a pretty good upswing and we kind of took a couple steps back.”

When the team played at the Meadowlands, the lengthy road trips usually happened three times a season but rarely lasted more than a week. It appears this type of trip will happen again in future seasons but the hope is it will include more Eastern Conference opponents.

“Hopefully, in the future there will be more Eastern games and it will be a better breakdown during the trip so you don’t literally pack up and head out for two weeks,” Carlesimo said. “That’s not the ideal situation, especially this time of the year.

It also wasn’t ideal because the night the trip began with a blowout win in Detroit the Knicks snapped a four-game losing streak in Utah. That left the Nets one game out of first place and they haven’t been able to gain any ground because the Knicks have won eight in a row.

Johnson practices, still questionable

Joe Johnson described the feeling in his sore left heel and right quad as “great.” However, the combination of playing the Bulls on Thursday and how he feels Wednesday morning in Cleveland may factor into if he actually suits up.

“I know it’s a back-to-back,” Johnson said. “So it’s kind of, ‘pick what game you want to play basically,’ so we’ll see.”

Johnson tested his pain threshold by participating in every drill in practice. That included scrimmaging with teammates and followed the usual procedure of ice and rest.

The Nets have gone 2-2 during Johnson’s four-game absence. In the three games he has played on the trip, Johnson has shot 13-of-44 (29.5 percent) and since returning from the initial three-game absence due to a sore heel in late-February, he is shooting 42.5 percent while averaging 13.3 points.

Joseph signs 10-day contract

Watching some of former Syracuse teammates make the Final Four wasn’t the only good news Kris Joseph received in the last few days. The other was finding out the Nets signed him to a 10-day contract Tuesday.

Joseph was a second-round pick of the Celtics last June and spent most of this season in the NBDL. He was acquired by the Nets’ D-League affiliate in Springfield on Feb. 11 and averaged 19 points while starting 15 games that he said featured an improved performance on 3-pointers.

“In college I shot the ball pretty decently and the question was transitioning from the college three to the NBA three,” Joseph said. “When I was in Boston in the limited minutes I didn’t shoot a lot of threes. In Maine [with Boston's NBDL team] I did and I didn’t shoot a high percentage but once I got to Springfield I was shooting in the high-40s [percent] and I think that’s the part of my game that has improved the most.”

Joseph’s best showing from behind the arc was a 5-for-5 night on March 19 against Erie and he ended his latest stint by shooting 13-for-24 on 3-pointers over his last five games.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Deron Williams is attacking the basket more with his return to health.
Credit: Getty Images

On the Manhattan side of the East River, Carmelo Anthony is getting his knee drained, Tyson Chandler’s knee is contused and Amare Stoudemire’s just underwent knee surgery.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Deron Williams has a rejuvenated set of ankles that have allowed him to be more aggressive attacking the rim and Joe Johnson’s sore left heel is gradually returning to full strength.

In theory, that makes the Nets a decent bet to overtake the Knicks in the Atlantic Division before the regular season ends on April 17. If that does happen, it would mark the fifth division championship banner that the organization can halt.

Although the Nets are not dwelling on that possibility, they are well aware of the significance for their fans.

“You can say we’ve been the junior varsity at times,” Williams said after yesterday’s practice. “I think it definitely would mean a lot to clinch the division title to the fans, to the organization. I think it would be huge. There’s no doubt about that.

It’s huge to get back to playing playoff basketball. Some of these guys haven’t played playoff basketball. I think it means a lot to this franchise, especially in the first year being in Brooklyn. I think it means a lot to the city, so we will definitely be excited when it happens.”

The Nets currently sit two games behind the Knicks and when they take the court Sunday against Atlanta, that number might be reduced to one should the Trail Blazers and Clippers beat the Knicks. The Nets also have a magic number of four to clinch their first playoff berth since 2007, when they made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals before bowing out to LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

However, before anyone gets overjoyed, there is some caution. After Sunday night, the Nets will start an eight-game road trip the following night in Detroit, followed by six straight games against Western Conference foes, a brief return to the New York area for practice and then a flight to Cleveland for a game on April 3.

“I know definitely being a New Yorker, being here for what, six or seven months, I understand how the fans feel about the Nets and the Knicks, so I know how important it is,” Johnson said.

After the trip, the Nets will have nine games remaining and a better gauge on where they stand in terms of winning the division.

“It’s possible but we still have to go out west too so at this point of the season we still have to take care of our business,” Johnson said. “We can’t worry about what the Knicks are doing or any other team we just have to come out and we have our business and everything else as far as what we play for.”

Even with that diplomatic answer, it doesn’t mean the standings aren’t being checked at this point of the season.

“I tend to peek every now and then,” Johnson said. “You kind of want to gauge where you’re at and what it’s going to take to get where we’re trying to be. Yeah, I look at it quite often actually.”

Johnson expects to play

Johnson sat out Tuesday’s game with the Hornets to rest the sore left heel which cost him the final three games of February.

However, Johnson said he definitely expects to play in his fourth game against the Hawks this season on Sunday even though he did not participate in full contact drills during Thursday’s practice.

“I’m actually doing pretty good,” Johnson said. “I am resting; it feels a lot better. I actually had no pain today, so we’re still just taking it easy.”

Since returning, Johnson has averaged 13 points per game on 47.1 percent shooting but going six days without game action could help even more, especially with a long trip on the horizon.

“It gives you time to heal up your wounds and time to relax mentally and physically, so I think it’s a great time for us,” Johnson said. “Considering the fact we probably go out west for a couple weeks, this could really help us out.”

Carlesimo looks to get Humphries back

Kris Humphries began this season as the team’s starting power forward. He started the first 18 games, when the Nets won 11 times, but quickly fell out of the rotations of coaches Avery Johnson and P.J. Carlesimo.

Now it appears he might be returning to the rotation as the revolving door at power forward continues.

“We gotta get Hump in the lineup back soon,” Carlesimo said. “His conditioning is good. He’s done a lot of extra stuff with [trainer Jeremy Bettle]. The thing he hasn’t done is be on the floor in a while.”

Humphries made two more starts in December, but since going scoreless in his last start on Dec. 19 at New York he has played 20 minutes just eight times while playing less than 10 minutes nine times.

Most of his action has come in practices and in pregame workouts.

“It’s been tough,” Humphries said. “Before that it was tough. We really as far as the bigs haven’t had a consistent rotation. I think he was trying to have a rotation when I wasn’t playing. As a player you kind of want a rotation. Your minutes may flex but it helps the team with rhythm and stuff like that, so that’s been tough. And obviously that’s been trying.”

Even with averages of 5.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game following two seasons in which he averaged a double-double, Humphries believes those numbers can return at some point.

“I’m as confident as I’ve ever been in my game,” Humphries said. “I’m confident that if I get the minutes I’m still a double-double guy. You can’t always judge everything by numbers. Sometimes it’s not in your control, so for me it’s just helping the team win and trying not to make it about me and making it about the team winning. Obviously you have to look out for yourself and your career. But it’s a team sport.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Four days in between games can leave a lot of time to stew over a bad loss. It would have seemed a lot longer had the Nets sustained a second straight bad loss to an inferior opponent.

Instead, the Nets avoided that fate by turning in a strong fourth quarter on the offensive end during a 108-98 victory over the Hornets.

The Nets did not necessarily win it on the defensive side as they allowed the Hornets to shoot 51.3 percent, but instead they won by shooting 50 percent themselves.

The Nets rebounded from a horrid loss 24 hours earlier in Philadelphia and have won four of their last five. They are two games behind the Knicks, though their crossriver rival will have played three more games before Brooklyn suits up Sunday night against Atlanta.

“We disappointed ourselves last night,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “We wanted to get five in a row and we put ourselves in position to close out four [wins] in five [games]. Had we found a way to win last night, then today would have been really hard for us to maintain the energy and do it but I like where we’re at.”

“It was very important because we felt we didn’t come prepared. We gave them confidence in the first half and they took advantage of it,” forward Gerald Wallace said.

The Nets won because of another solid showing by Deron Williams (21 points and 13 assists). Williams had his 16th double-double and sixth game with 20 points and 10 assists while turning it over just twice.

Brook Lopez reached 20 points (26 points) for just the third time since the All-Star break, while playing effectively with Andray Blatche (18 points) in the fourth quarter.

The Nets also won while getting key contributions from Wallace, who scored 13 points a night after being benched in the fourth as Carlesimo sought more offense. Also contributing was Marshon Brooks, who scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and reached double figures for the first time since Feb. 1.

The most crucial portion of the game, though, came with Williams getting a rest and the Nets going with Blatche, C.J. Watson, Lopez, Wallace and Brooks. It was the second time Blatche and Lopez played together after Carlesimo hinted at it eight days ago.

“It was good,” Lopez said. “It was a lot of fun. It was good to finally be out there and try everything out. I know I personally wondered what it was going to be like and what was going to work.”

Last night it was done to combat the length of Hornets’ big men Anthony Davis and Robin Lopez, who combined for 32 points and 19 rebounds. In the fourth quarter, that duo combined for four points and three rebounds while Blatche and Lopez combined for 10 points and five rebounds in the final 12 minutes.

“It’s two almost 7-footers,” Wallace said. “It opens up the court a lot more. It protects a whole lot more with a bigger wingspan and those guys are so great offensively on the block, so those guys have to be respected offensively.”

“I think it makes a big difference,” Williams said. “The whole team has to pay attention to where they are at all times and we can also throw it down to either one of them on the block and let them go to work, especially when they are shooting the ball the way they are.”

The first time the two got on the court together occurred over the final 4:33 of the third quarter. It started with the Nets holding a three-point lead that swelled to nine two minutes later. That stretch was highlighted by Brook Lopez’s monster dunk over twin brother Robin Lopez but it ended with an 80-78 lead after Blatche missed a layup but rebounded his own miss and converted.

Williams returned with 5:13 remaining and the Nets holding a 97-88 lead. After a Robin Lopez hook shot made it a seven-point game, the Nets scored the next seven points, highlighted by Blatche properly boxing out a Williams missed free throw and scoring the easy basket with 2:57 to play.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Deron Williams says he has not changed his diet, but during his week off before the All-Star break he underwent a three-day cleanse to rid his body of bad toxins.

It seemed appropriate after averaging 16.7 points while shooting 41.3 percent in the first half.

Combined with a third round of cortisone injections for his injured ankles, Williams heads into tonight’s game in Charlotte on one his best stretches of the season, though he was 4-of-12 Saturday in Chicago and has committed 28 turnovers in seven games since the All-Star break.

“I did it when I was hurt,” Williams said after Tuesday’s practice while wearing a “Running Sucks” T-shirt. “I think it helps your energy and gets a lot of the bad toxins out of your system.”

Though Williams said he has not changed his diet, interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo seems to think otherwise based on his point guard’s recent appearance.

“Right now, he’s really made a strong move addressing diet,” Carlesimo said. “I remember we were at a dinner the other night and he was drinking that cleanse stuff. He’s lost some weight in the week off [and] I think it helped him. He looks good. He looks very good.”

Besides the cleanse, perhaps an even more significant reason for Williams averaging 21.7 points 7.1 assists, shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point range and 43.8 percent overall is a renewed good feeling in his ankles.

“My ankles don’t hurt,” Williams said. “We finally got the injections in the right spot. I feel a little better. I can actually go up and down stairs. I can run around with my kids. I can go to the playground with them. I don’t hurt every time I take a step.”

As for dunking, don’t count on that happening. William attempted to dunk on Clippers center Blake Griffin late in the first quarter and had his shot emphatically blocked.

“I can dunk,” Williams said. “I don’t know [about dunking]. I’m nervous.”

Johnson feeling better

Joe Johnson has scored 11 points and shot 10-of-22 in two games since returning from his heel injury. In those games, he was not necessarily 100 percent and has been using a combination of ice and treatment to improve his condition.

“I’m right there,” Johnson said. “I just got to do what I need to do to treat my body right and to be ready to perform, so we’ll see.”

Now that Johnson is feeling somewhat better, he says the next priority is to fix the constant issue of playing poorly in specific quarters. In their last two games, the Nets gave up a 29-14 third-quarter run to Dallas and a 26-12 second quarter at Chicago.

“I have no idea [why it happens],” Johnson said. “It’s been a carbon copy pretty much the whole season. We have a little run where we’ve been playing good in the third quarter but the majority of the time our third quarters has really dictated the game for us. We have to get to the drawing board or just try to make somewhat of a difference.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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With a little under eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Keith Bogans let his frustration be known to anyone who was watching.

C.J. Watson’s pass intended for the reserve guard landed out of bounds and when Bogans retrieved it, he slammed it with his right hand and was called for a technical foul.

Coincidentally, the Nets started playing better, but everything they had done until that point was their undoing in a 96-90 loss to the Mavericks.

The Nets were down by 19 when Bogans got annoyed, along with the crowd who had expressed displeasure at a 29-14 third quarter by Dallas. From that point, the Nets outscored the Mavericks, 24-13, and sliced a 21-point lead to five on Watson’s baseline drive with 1:05 remaining.

“There was no X and O’s, we were just playing a lot harder,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said after his team dropped its third straight home game.

Ultimately, it was too late because of a dreadful stretch of 2:58 that spanned the final 62 seconds of the third quarter and the first 1:56 of the fourth quarter. The Nets let a manageable 71-63 deficit quickly become 83-63.

“We were playing like we were running in sand,” Carlesimo said. “We didn’t execute well. I thought, worse we didn’t play with any defensive energy and it went from 10 to 20 in a very short time.”

“I think we just put ourselves in a bad position and one through 12 [players on the roster] we didn’t have any energy,” center Brook Lopez said. “There was no energy on the floor; there was no energy on the bench. That’s tough. I think when our guys are struggling a little bit we on the bench should be up more and trying to get back in it.”

It started when Shawn Marion had an easy path to the hoop for a layup after Mirza Teletovic failed to put a body on him. It ended with consecutive corner 3-pointers by Jae Crowder and Mike James.

The ugly burst occurred after the Nets took a 49-48 lead at halftime. But Carlesimo seemed to have a premonition after their final three possessions of the half resulted in a missed 3-pointer, a turnover and a missed dunk.

“We should have had a four-, five-, six- or seven-point lead,” Carlesimo said.

After wasting a chance to expand the lead, the Nets started out dreadful in the second half. Deron Williams had consecutive bad passes and the Nets missed six of their first eight shots.

“The start of the third quarter was so poor and we just drifted back to what has been a problem for us,” Carlesimo said. “When we don’t score and [we] turn it over, we don’t play with the same kind of energy.”

The poor play in that brief burst put a damper on the reunion of Joe Johnson and Williams following a three-game absence.

Johnson missed his first three shots and finished with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting, but did not play the final 8:23. Williams continued his solid scoring production of late with 24 points, but also had seven turnovers on a night the Nets committed 20 as a team.

“It started with me,” Williams said. “I think it is kind of a snowball effect. I was throwing the ball everywhere and it is just one of those things where you see a guy making some bad passes and you start thinking about it.”

Probably the best news was Johnson’s return from a sore left heel. Though Carlesimo kept Johnson on the bench because of the improved play on the court and the game in Chicago on Saturday, Johnson could have returned.

“I felt good,” Johnson said. “It’s just unfortunate that our energy level wasn’t there but physically I felt good.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Deron Williams could have returned to his hometown when free agency started last July and suited up for the Mavericks.

Interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo believed that was a strong possibility, but also felt Williams had been with the Nets long enough to get acclimated.

“I was always worried, just because that’s my nature. Until he re-signed, I was concerned,” Carlesimo said yesterday. “Yeah, clearly being from Dallas and Dallas having a pretty good roster — they won the championship a couple years ago — I thought it was a viable option.”

The talk of Williams joining the Mavericks was something the point guard was reluctant to talk about as his only comments Thursday were, “That’s behind me. I’m part of the Brooklyn Nets. There’s no reason to revisit that.”

In October, Williams had grown weary of his name being linked to the Mavericks. That stemmed from a non face-to-face exchange with owner Mark Cuban. Williams initially stated Cuban’s absence from meetings with the Mavericks contributed to his decision in free agency.

Cuban then countered in the Dallas Morning News, saying, “I’m a big D-Will fan, but I’m kind of surprised that he would throw his front office under the bus like that by saying that I would make a difference.”

More time for Mirza

Mirza Teletovic has averaged 8.1 minutes in the 35 games he has managed to get off the bench. During those games, he has made 32.4 percent of his 3-pointers and in the last four games his playing time has ranged from two minutes to 17 minutes.

Going forward, it seems Carlesimo might give Teletovic more minutes.

“I’d like to have [solidified the rotation] two months ago,” Carlesimo told reporters at the morning shootaround. “But Mirza is going to be the priority going forward. These next two games might not be ideal for Mirza.”

As for using Teletovic in the starting lineup, Carlesimo isn’t sure if that will occur since he thinks it could be a mismatch on both ends and it takes away some of the physical aspects the Nets display when Reggie Evans is out there.

Teletovic signed a three-year deal with the Nets over the summer following six seasons in the Spanish ACB league. Last year he shot 43.6 percent from 3-point range and is 4-of-10 behind the arc in his two double-digit scoring games this year.

Ex-Net Morrow excited to move

Anthony Morrow is currently in Dallas after being traded from Atlanta at the trade deadline but many times when he logs on to Twitter, a Net fan will ask when is he returning to the Nets.

“I get one of those tweets like every single day,” Morrow said before the game. “I definitely miss those fans, the Brooklyn fans and New Jersey fans. I didn’t realize they liked me so much.

“But it’s cool, it’s real cool and I support all the fans here still. I haven’t really thought about it but I want to be here [in Dallas] in the situation that I’m in now, a great situation, but you never know.”

Morrow appeared in 120 games for the Nets in their final two years in New Jersey when they played at the Prudential Center. In 2010-11, he led the team by making 42.3 percent of his 3-pointers and last year, though he slipped to 37.1 percent, he averaged 12 points while mostly coming off the bench.

Over the summer, Morrow was one of the five players sent to Atlanta in the Joe Johnson trade. He averaged just 12.5 minutes in 24 games and played just 9:44 over his final month and a half with the Hawks while missing 17 straight games with a strained right hip and sore lower back.

“It’s been a real trying year in terms of opportunities in Atlanta, [with] injuries and everything. So it’s been a real test of faith and a lot of character situations but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” Morrow said. “I’m still happy and I’m still blessed. When I found out I was coming here it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I knew I was going to get a chance to play.”

Morrow is the final year of a three-year contract and can be an unrestricted free agent over the summer. He initially signed the deal with the Nets after being acquired from Golden State in a sign-and-trade.

King, Nets support blood cancer charity

The Nets held a drive before the game to support bone marrow transplants against blood cancer that was sponsored by deletebloodcancer.org. Fans had their cheeks swabbed to see if they were a match. Among those getting swabbed was general manager Billy King.

The Nets also held drives on Jan. 18 against Atlanta and Feb. 5 against the Lakers. They will also hold drives April 4 vs. Chicago and April 15 vs. Washington.

Joe Johnson, whose mother is battling the disease, is the team’s spokesperson for the foundation and his public service announcement was played during halftime.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Deron Williams played his best game of the year Tuesday night in New Orleans when he scored 33 points.

The one caveat was that Joe Johnson was not in the backcourt with Williams. With Johnson sitting out the last three games due to a sore left heel, Williams has been able to assume some of the responsibilities as the game’s closer — a role Johnson has performed to near perfection this season.

The Nets are hopeful Johnson will return Friday night against Dallas, especially after how he and Williams performed in practice on Thursday.

“We’re still working on [our chemistry],” Williams said. “It’s something that we’re going to continue to work on and get better as it goes. I said it before I’ve never played with a guy like Joe, so it takes adjustments. We’re used to having the ball in our hands for the majority of the time, so now it’s kind of one of those things.”

Williams is shooting 19-of-36 in 79 minutes over his last two games and interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo does not believe the surge is a fluke.

“I think the shooting is real,” Carlesimo said. “I mean he’s shooting the ball extremely well, he’s moving, he’s moving well [and] he’s attacking. We’ve not actually sat down and asked him, but clearly he’s had to do more the last couple games, in terms of creating offense not just for other guys but also for himself.

“He looks good, he looks comfortable [and] he’s played big minutes,” Carlesimo said. “We rested him a little bit the other night but he’s playing big minutes and he’s playing very well which is all encouraging.”

Johnson hopeful but unsure

Johnson said he felt encouraged after Monday’s practice but didn’t suit up the next night. Johnson felt the same after a nearly perfect shooting performance in practice according to Keith Bogans but still wasn’t ready to declare 100 percent that he is ready to return Friday.

“It’s better, not 100 percent, but it’s definitely better,” Johnson said. “I’m able to get out here and move around, work out and get back acclimated.”

The reason for the uncertainty is the concern that if Johnson plays without fully — or nearly — recovering it could exacerbate the injury and be more of a detriment to the team.

“I wanna say yeah, but I don’t want to jump out on a limb,” Johnson said. “We’re still trying to do the necessary things to get me back out there as soon as possible.”

If Johnson does not start, C.J. Watson will. Watson made two starts for Williams before the break, scored 25 points against Denver on Feb. 13 and is shooting 34-of-62 over his last five games.

Brooks skips practice

Marshon Brooks has played over 20 minutes in consecutive games for the first time this season but he might have to wait to see if he can get that much playing time in a third straight game.

Brooks was held out of practice with a sprained right wrist and is considered questionable for Friday. Brooks missed three games in November with a sprained left ankle and his playing time has fluctuated this year.

He played a season-high 31 minutes Sunday against Memphis and had eight points and seven rebounds while taking 13 shots. On Tuesday, Brooks played 23 minutes and also scored eight points.

Brooks also has had 20 games with under 10 minutes of playing time.

“He’s moved the ball well, he’s made good decisions with the ball and not just in terms of scoring, but he’s had some good passes where he moved the ball,” Carlesimo said. “He’s trying to do a better job defensively, which is still the biggest concern.”

Carlesimo also said the aspect on defense Brooks has improved most is on help defense, but said his transition and one-on-one defense still need to be worked on more.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Nets interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo had labeled his handling of Brook Lopez’s minutes in the fourth quarter since the All-Star break as “something he probably shouldn’t do.” Yet, on Sunday when the Nets were missing Joe Johnson (sore left heel) for a second straight game, that plan remained in place.

“I created the situation and it’s not a good situation,” Carlesimo said after practice Monday before the team headed to New Orleans. “So yes, I worry about it that I need to address it and I worry about it that I need to watch what I do going forward.”

Lopez sat for the entire fourth quarter in last Tuesday’s overtime win over Milwaukee and again Wednesday. After playing six minutes in the fourth quarter, but scoring just two of his 27 points in Friday’s 10-point loss to Houston, Lopez was glued to the bench again Sunday.

Lopez was 13-of-21 from the field in Friday’s game, but in the other three games he is shooting 12-of-40.

While Lopez struggles with his shot, those minutes have mostly gone to Andray Blatche. Blatche averaged eight points per game before the break but is shooting 18-of-33 and has grabbed 26 rebounds — six more than Lopez — in that stretch.

“You’d go crazy with the ‘what ifs’ and everything — run the play properly, what if our shots had gone down and theirs hadn’t,” Lopez said. “I mean there’s a million possibilities. And Dray is just as good a center offensively as I am and he’s perfectly capable of scoring.”

One possibility is pairing Lopez and Blatche together, which happened in the second quarter against Miami on Jan. 30.

“I definitely think that would be a great possibility,” Lopez said. “I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve played together. I think we play well with each other.”

“That was something that after the game was over last night, we got squeezed by Mirza [Teletovic],” Carlesimo said. “Mirza went in and played well and going into the last time when we went down to play them, it was something that we were going to look at and Hump played well. Reggie played well in the second half and we never got to it. Last night going into the game, it was something that we thought we would do and didn’t and that’s close to an ideal thing to do that we didn’t.”

Lopez’s nonexistent playing time in the fourth quarter Sunday led to him not talking to the media afterward, though he was hardly alone in that. Lopez seemed unsure of the postgame events when he explained himself Monday.

“I have no idea, honestly because Dray and I we’re usually the first ones out anyway. We dress quick and then we do our media and then we’re out anyway.  So I didn’t know everyone else left.”

Williams expects to play Tuesday

Point guard Deron Williams gave the thumbs up when asked about his bruised left calf and said he expects to play Tuesday.

Williams appeared to injure the calf on his drive late in Sunday’s game that was partially blocked by Tony Allen and did not generate a foul call.

“I feel better,” Williams said. “I feel like the break helped and the shots helped and it’s been a positive effect, and hopefully it continues to get better.”

Williams had his third round of cortisone injections in his ankles last Thursday and has had mixed results. He shot 5-of-17 Friday while settling for mostly jumpers, and then went 9-of-14 while attempting to be more aggressive Sunday.

“It’s not like I haven’t wanted to be aggressive, it’s just like my ankles wear down quarter by quarter and toward the end of the game, it’s like I have no lift,” Williams said. “That was the main thing, the first half of the season, was just that I’d push the ball the first quarter, the second quarter a little bit, the third quarter not much and the fourth quarter, it’s hard to. Now that they’re feeling better, I’m just gonna try to keep attacking and keep the pressure on.”

Johnson questionable for Tuesday

Carlesimo said he was encouraged by Joe Johnson’s shooting in practice but was not quite ready to say if his second-leading scorer would suit up Tuesday. The team officially said he is questionable with a sore left heel.

“I think we probably won’t know until tomorrow, but I was encouraged,” Carlesimo said. “He’s not jumping up and down but he’s moving around. He also did some dribble-move shots, certainly less than 100 percent, but I thought it went well. A lot of it is with a bruise is it going to flare up tonight or is going to flare up tomorrow? He may say it feels really good but he may not be able to get out of bed tomorrow morning. But I think we were encouraged by how Joe looked.”

Johnson has missed the last two games with the injury that initially flared up shortly before the All-Star break and the last thing he wants to do is return too early and make it worse.

“If I come back too soon maybe it could get worse,” Johnson said. “This is not something that I want to linger over to the postseason so we’re just trying to take care of it now.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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With 19.2 seconds left, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov rose from his seat in his suite high atop the Barclays Center.

Prokhorov, like many in the crowd, was anticipating a game-tying shot.

Eleven seconds later, his face was buried in his hands as Deron Williams’s attempt fell short into Tayshaun Prince’s grasp and the Nets wound up with a 76-72 loss to the Grizzlies.

The Nets dropped their second straight game with Joe Johnson watching in a suit from the bench because of a sore left heel.

Williams scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and got a shot at two more with less than 30 seconds to play. He crossed over Tony Allen and attempted to get a shot past Zach Randolph while enduring contact. He did not get a foul call, much to the dismay of the crowd.

“I definitely got fouled, but they didn’t call it, so I guess I didn’t,” Williams said. “It’s frustrating, but I can’t really control no calls or calls or anything like that. I can control that I turned the ball over on the next play, which is even more frustrating and how we executed down the stretch is frustrating.”

Williams briefly fell to the ground but appeared uninjured. On the next possession, Keith Bogans was initially called for a goaltending but after it was reversed Mirza Teletovic was called for a foul and Allen hit two free throws for a 74-72 lead.

“I thought Deron did a great job of taking the ball to the basket,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “It’s hard to believe. I thought there was a travel before the pass. I didn’t watch the replay yet. He goes to the basket on the other end and gets knocked down and I think if you watch the replay, you’ll see a travel before the pass but you don’t lose the game on the last play. We had other opportunities to do things and that’s just a disappointing way to lose.”

The Nets were unable to overcome Johnson’s absence because Brook Lopez was ineffective in the post. He sat for the entire fourth quarter and was held to nine points while shooting 3-of-10. Lopez left the locker room, escorted by general manager Billy King, without talking to the media.

Even with Johnson sitting and Lopez a non-factor, Williams’s aggressiveness nearly willed the Nets to a win. Williams was an efficient 9-of-14 and seemed more intent on driving to the basket instead of settling for jump shots, though he knocked down four 3-pointers.

Williams’s efficiency came on a night where the rest of the starting lineup fell short. The other four starters combined for 22 points, eight turnovers and shot 8-of-27 from the field.

The rest of the starters were so ineffective on the offensive side that Gerald Wallace, C.J. Watson and Evans sat for virtually the entire fourth quarter as Carlesimo went with Bogans, Brooks, Teletovic, Andray Blatche and Williams for most the final period.

That group helped turn a 55-51 deficit into two five-point leads. The last one was on Teletovic’s 19-foot fadeaway before it all fell apart.

“It hurt a lot because you don’t want to lose at home,” Evans said. “It hurts a lot. We couldn’t find a way to make a bucket and things didn’t go our way at the end like we probably thought it would, but unfortunately we didn’t find a way to get a win.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

Even with Johnson sitting and Lopez a non-factor, Williams’ aggressiveness nearly willed the Nets to a win as he spent most of the night trying to get around Tony Allen. Williams was an efficient 9-of-14 and seemed more intent on driving to the basket instead of settling for jump shots, though he knocked down four 3-pointers.

Williams’ efficiency came on a night where the rest of the starting lineup fell short.  The other four starters combined for 22 points, eight turnovers and shot 8-of-27 from the field.

The rest of the starters were so ineffective on the offensive side that Gerald Wallace, C.J. Watson and Evans sat for virtually the entire fourth quarter as Carlesimo went with Bogans, Brooks, Teletovic, Andray Blatche and Williams for most the final period.

That group helped turn a 55-51 deficit into two five-point leads. The last one was on Teletovic’s 19-foot fadeaway and then it all fell apart.

“It hurt a lot because you don’t want to lose at home,” Evans said. “It hurts a lot. We couldn’t find a way to make a bucket and things didn’t go our way at the end like we probably thought it would but unfortunately we didn’t find a way to get a win.”

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If the Nets need a big shot late in the game, they will not be diagramming a play for Joe Johnson.

Johnson missed his first game of the season against Houston with a sore left heel general manager Billy King said was caused by plantar fasciitis. Johnson was not at the team’s morning shootaround. King said the injury flared up after Johnson shot 3-of-14 and scored eight points in Wednesday’s 97-94 win at Milwaukee.

“They said a sore heel, but it’s the same thing,” King said. “It’s just plantar fasciitis.”

King said this was the first time Johnson had experienced this issue and he would have been active if this was a playoff game.

Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the foot, which can be caused by the wear and tear of constantly running up and down the court and the injury time varies. For example, New York Knicks center Marcus Camby has missed two and a half months with the injury.

However, speaking on ESPN Radio earlier Friday, King categorized the injury as minor and anticipated Johnson will play Sunday against Memphis.

“It’s better than it was two days ago,” King said. “They’ve got him on medication and I expect him to be better tomorrow and we’ll see how it is Sunday.

“If it’s still tender and sore, we may keep him out, because it’s a marathon we’re trying to finish, not a sprint.”

Johnson has not missed a game since missing six of seven games for Atlanta from Feb. 22-March 7 with left knee tendinitis.

C.J. Watson, who is five inches shorter, started for Johnson. He also started twice in place of Deron Williams in the final two games before the All-Star break.

“It will be concern for two obvious reasons,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “One, he’s such a good player, and two, I think we play him so many minutes, so it’s the same thing with Deron. He’s such a crucial player and to sit him out is going to have an impact on our team.”

Williams gets cortisone shots

A cortisone shot is one of the most common anti-inflammatory treatments in sports and for Williams it is being used to help him cope with the ankle issues that have bothered him this season.

He had cortisone shots in both ankles on Thursday after playing 78 minutes in back-to-back wins over Milwaukee the previous two nights.

It also was not the first time cortisone has been injected into Williams’s ankles. Williams said he had an injection before the season opener in late-October and again in late-December.

The ankles have bothered Williams since playing in the summer Olympics and besides rest the other solution is offseason surgery. Though the Nets can monitor his minutes, especially after Carlesimo said on ESPN Radio Thursday the point guard is not 100 percent, Williams does not want to shut it down.

“I mean, I’ve gotten frustrated some nights where I can’t do anything, can’t go anywhere, and it’s frustrating and that’s how you want to think, but I can’t do that,” Williams said to reporters at the morning shootaround in East Rutherford, N.J.

Besides inflammation and a bone spur, Williams has not had an extensive break in a while. He played in Turkey during the lockout, played 55 games last season and then 145 minutes in eight Olympic Games in London.

“The problem was I haven’t had a break in a long time,” Williams said. “I was doing plyometrics, box jumps this summer for the first time. I lifted heavier than I’ve ever lifted, and so I think all the wear and tear is what’s caused the inflammation and I haven’t had a break to get it out. It’s just gotten worse and worse. It didn’t feel as bad because I wasn’t playing back-to-backs and four in five nights, then we got to the season [and] it just kept getting worse and worse because you have less and less rest.”

King talks trade deadline

King spent most of the trade deadline fielding phone calls from other general managers, which was a change from the previous two years when conversations with Portland and Utah led to the trades for Gerald Wallace and Williams.

King reiterated that the 10 percent chance of him making a deal remained the same and that he enjoyed seeing the rumors linking the Nets to players such as Josh Smith and Ben Gordon.

The only move King can now make is to sign a player who gets waived by March 1. King hinted that the Nets may use their open roster spot on a veteran or on a young player for developmental purposes.

One player that was never considered was Kenyon Martin, the former Net forward who signed a 10-day contract with the Knicks Thursday.

“If you look at it, we have five big guys and we can barely get enough minutes as it is now,” King said.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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With less than 30 seconds left in a close game, there is one man the Nets want with the ball.

Joe Johnson forced overtime with a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation, and also gave the Nets a 113-111 victory over the Bucks with a mid-range jumper at the overtime buzzer.

“I just try to do a good job and try to get space and make the best play possible,” Johnson said. “My teammates [have] the utmost confidence [in me] in the huddle. The coaches and I just try to come through in big moments like that.

“I’m thinking of how they’re going to play me or what I’m going to do. But at the end of the day when I get the basketball it’s instinct, it’s reaction.”

Johnson scored 24 points and his two big shots made him 8-of-9 in the last 30 seconds of games with the margin three points or less. He hit a buzzer-beating shot in December against Detroit in double-overtime which bore a resemblance to the one Tuesday night.

Ironically, Johnson hit a 35-footer right after the Nets called timeout, but once play resumed, there was little doubt where the ball was headed. After Keith Bogans inbounded, he gave it to Johnson, who began a slight drive on Luc Mbah a Moute before crossing him over and pulling up for the jumper near the foul line.

“It was one of our normal out-of-bounds plays,” interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “Give the ball to Joe and get out of the way.”

“He just drew the play up and told me to go get a bucket,” Johnson said. “My teammates were telling me, ‘Joe, come on let’s go.’”

When the ball went in, the Nets ended a 13-game losing streak to the Bucks that dated back to when Vince Carter was in the starting lineup in March 2009. It also made Johnson 4-for-4 on shots occurring with less than 10 seconds remaining in games.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Johnson said. “Regardless of the situation whether it’s the regular season or playoffs, it’s always a great feeling and just to see everybody kind of explode and the excitement in the building is probably the best feeling.”

Johnson got the nickname “Iso-Joe” for the isolation plays run for him in Atlanta, and in four instances those same plays have worked out well for the Nets.

He began his run of clutch shots by hitting a jumper over Tayshaun Prince on Dec. 14 at the end of double overtime. That was followed by an 18-footer with 0.7 seconds left in double overtime at Washington on Jan. 4 and a pull-up jumper with 22 seconds to play at New York on Jan. 21.

“He’s like everybody knew that Michael [Jordan] was getting the ball in Chicago [for] the last play,” Nets forward Gerald Wallace said. “Everybody knew Joe was getting the ball. He just makes plays. I think the biggest thing that a lot of people don’t understand about Joe is that you can’t rattle him; you can’t get him out of his game. He gets the shot that he’s going to want to get.”

“You get used to it here,” point guard Deron Williams added. “You definitely get used to it.”

Johnson’s two big shots came on a night that saw Williams score 19 points and hand out nine assists in his return from ankle inflammation. Williams also had six turnovers, including an offensive foul with eight seconds left in regulation that forced Johnson to hit his first big shot.

Williams also struggled defensively against Brandon Jennings, who was among the reasons why the Nets blew a 15-point first half lead and needed Johnson’s heroics. Jennings scored 23 of his 34 points after halftime but did not score after regulation and missed a short jumper with 12 seconds left that would have given the Bucks a 113-111 lead.

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Nets general manager Billy King may want to make a notable trade but if he was placing odds on it, the chances of a major name coming to Brooklyn before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline seem slim.

“We could, then we could not,” King said to reporters at the morning shootaround on Tuesday. “I would put the likelihood of us doing a deal at 10 percent.”

In the buildup to the deadline, the Nets have mostly been linked to Atlanta power forward Josh Smith, who is due to become an unrestricted free agent and unlikely to return to Atlanta after the season.

Other names linked to the Nets include Charlotte reserve shooting guard Ben Gordon and Utah power forward Paul Millsap. Of course the name Dwight Howard has also been thrown into the rumor discussion, especially after the Nets failed pursuit of him last year.

Adding someone notable could prove costly in terms of the luxury tax for the Nets. After King shelled out $330 million last summer, the payroll currently sits at $83.5 million, putting them $13.5 million over the salary cap.

Ownership has stated anything less than a trip to the Eastern Conference finals will not be considered a successful season and the lone assets the team has in a trade are two players whose play has diminished after last season in Kris Humphries and Marshon Brooks.

“We are at a point now where I think this group has got to play together more than shaking it up and bringing in a bunch of pieces,” King said. “The roster itself is not perfect but I think it’s a roster that can win and it’s won 31 games.”

Carlesimo befuddled by Williams criticism

Before last night’s game, interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo spent a few minutes defending point guard Deron Williams from the various criticism he has received this year despite his 16.7 points per game and 41.3 percent shooting not being as effective as past seasons.

“We just need him to be Deron Williams,” Carlesimo said. “Everybody else has problems with Deron. I don’t have any problems with Deron Williams. I love Deron Williams and he’s a great player. I’m a little bit befuddled at everything that’s being made. He’s a pretty good player. I don’t have the problem with him that everybody else has or seems to have. I don’t know what everyone else is looking at.”

The most recent criticism came from president of USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo. Colangelo told the New York Daily News at All-Star Weekend in Houston that Williams was “not in the best of shape” for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Williams returned Tuesday night after missing two games with inflammation in both ankles and Carlesimo cited the 31 wins the Nets had at the All-Star break in his defense of his franchise player.

“Again you can look at numbers and make numbers say whatever they want,” Carlesimo said. “I don’t know what the stats are. We’ve had more wins in a bunch of years than this franchise has had in a bunch of years at the All-Star break. We’re playing in a new building and with new teammates.

“I think from the outside world people will say things are OK in Brooklyn and Deron has a lot to do with that. Deron’s basically been the single most important factor in transforming the franchise, so honestly I don’t understand it.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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The first year in Brooklyn has been interesting for the Nets.

The calendar year started with Avery Johnson winning Eastern Conference Coach of the Year after an 11-4 start and ended with him being fired when the team was at .500 on Dec. 27.

Since P.J. Carlesimo took over on an interim basis, the Nets have won 17 of 25 games, the team’s second-best record after a midseason coaching change. Carlesimo noted before the Nets headed into the break with a win last Wednesday that he would like to see more consistency.

Metro grades the team’s first half:

P.J. Carlesimo head coach:  The Nets have responded well to the former Seton Hall head man. They have averaged 96 points and shot 44.5 percent while making 36.2 percent of their 3-pointers in the last 25 games. In the first 28 games, those numbers were 94.5, 43.8 and 34.4 respectively. The only flaw is some of the blowout losses, but those have been countered by strong responses in subsequent games. Grade: A-

Deron Williams, guard: Williams averaged 21 points in his first full season with the Nets last year,but that number has dipped to 16.7 points this season, his lowest since 2006-07. He is also shooting just 41.3 percent. Ankle issues may be the cause, but the Nets are hoping eight days in between games will help their $100 million man. Grade:  C

Joe Johnson, guard: Durable and steady would be the best way to describe Johnson’s first 53 games as a Net. Despite shooting 42.4 percent, Johnson has been in double figures in 50 games and is responsible for two game-winning shots on Dec. 14 vs. Detroit and Jan. 21 at New York. Grade: B

Reggie Evans, forward: Evans’s sole purpose is to get rebounds and his average of 9.2 per game (10.5 as a starter) is suitable enough to compensate for his limited offense. Grade B

Gerald Wallace, forward: Wallace is averaging under double digits in points per game (8.9) for the first time since 2003-04 and has missed 10 games with injuries. Even with reduced numbers and minutes, his vocal presence in the locker room and on the court is a significant asset. Grade B-

Brook Lopez, center: Lopez has gone from being dangled in the Dwight Howard trade talks to taking the next step teams look for from lottery picks. He leads NBA centers in scoring and improved his defense by being sixth in blocks His best season has resulted in a much-deserved All-Star selection. His impact was felt when the team lost five of seven games with him injured in December. Grade: A+

Andray Blatche, forward: Blatche was signed to a low-risk contract, which was due to his past history in Washington. For someone on that type of deal, production of 10 points per game and 48.6 percent shooting is more than acceptable. Grade: A

Kris Humphries, forward: Career highs of 13.8 points and 11 rebounds per game last season prompted the Nets to re-sign Humphries to a two-year, $24 million contract. So far, Humphries has been a disappointment. He lost his starting job in December and has yet to distinguish himself enough to earn it back. Grade: C-

Keith Bogans, guard: He averages just 4.2 points per game, but is consistent enough that he is trustworthy, especially from the perimeter late in games. Grade: B

Marshon Brooks, guard: Brooks has had his moments (13 points vs. Chicago, 15 vs. Sacramento and 17 vs. Phoenix) but seems to be on the fringe of the rotation as he has played at least 20 minutes just five times. Grade: C-

C.J. Watson, guard: Like Brooks, Watson has had his moments (25 points Wednesday vs. Denver) but has not quite been as consistent as the Nets would like. Grade: C

Jerry Stackhouse, forward: The former 29.8 points per game scorer played well when given minutes early on. Stackhouse has not played in the last eight games and his contributions will likely be limited the rest of the way. Grade: C

Mirza Teltovic, forward: The fact that the Nets have several veteran big men ahead of him has kept him glued to the bench more often but he has shown potential in small doses. Grade: C

Tyshawn Taylor, guard: The rookie from Hoboken, N.J. has had limited chances to play so the jury is out. The good was a 12-point, 35-minute showing in last week’s overtime win at Indiana. But like many first-year players, especially second-round picks, he remains a work in progress. Grade: Incomplete

Tornike Shengelia, guard: It’s hard to judge someone who has not received more than 12 minutes in any game this season. He had a few big games in the D-League, but like Taylor he remains a work in progress. Grade: Incomplete

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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Deron Williams had ankle issues before the season started. It just didn’t cost him any games until now.

The Nets announced Williams will miss tonight’s game at Indiana and Wednesday’s home game against Denver with synovitis, which is inflammation of ankle joint linings. Williams received platelet rich treatment on both ankles earlier today and is expected to miss just the two games.

Since these are the last two games before the All-Star break, the Nets said Williams is expected back for next Tuesday’s home game with Milwaukee. That will give him nine days between full contact and full-speed game action.

“We just felt this is probably the best time to give him off because he’s not going to have a full week in the second half of the season,” general manager Billy King told reporters before last night’s game.

Before the season opener, a MRI show that Williams had bone spurs in his left ankle. General manager Billy King told reporters that he thought Williams would likely have to undergo offseason surgery, but that the issue would be manageable.

The Nets have managed the ankle by having him sit out practices, but the injury may also been caused by increased activity. During the lockout last season, he played in Turkey and then did not get much rest playing the 2012 Olympics this past offseason.

Williams has played in 50 games this year. The only game he missed was Dec. 26 in Milwaukee due to a wrist injury, which coincidentally was the last game for former head coach Avery Johnson.

In that game, C.J. Watson and Keith Bogans were Brooklyn’s starting guards while Joe Johnson slid over to starting forward. The Nets dropped to 14-14 with a 108-93 loss and fired Johnson the next day.

The Nets have won 15 of 23 games since replacing Johnson with P.J. Carlesimo on an interim basis but also have dropped six of their last nine games starting with a blowout loss in Memphis and continuing with Sunday’s 111-86 loss to San Antonio.

“Bad habits creep in,” Williams said. “It’s tough to break them. If we want to be a good team, we have to play better. If they go on a run, we have to try to get some stops, try to break that chain. … It’s almost like we have two different teams and you are guessing which one is going to show up on that given night.”

Williams is averaging 15.7 points and 6.7 assists in that period while shooting 45.5 percent.  However, on shots between five to nine feet, Williams is shooting 36.4 percent (4-of-11) in that span, which may suggest an ankle issue while penetrating to the basket.

“He hasn’t had the same explosiveness that he had last year, so obviously there’s something’s affecting him,” King said.

Overall he is averaging 16.7 points and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 41.8 percent. In his first full season with the Nets in 2011-12, Williams averaged 21 points and 8.7 assists per game on 40.7 shooting while missing 11 games

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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