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Johnson's late jumper sends Nets past Thunder

Jan 3, 2014 - 7:13 AM Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Joe Johnson dribbled behind his back and knocked down the game-winner.

His Brooklyn Nets teammates were on the court to celebrate.

Johnson's buzzer-beater lifted the Nets to a 95-93 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday after they had trailed by as many as 16 points.

The win came two days after the Nets were embarrassed two ways in a loss to San Antonio. They were blown out 113-92 and coach Jason Kidd was forced to call a timeout with 0.2 seconds left because his players had left the court already, thinking the game was over.

Everyone stuck around to see Johnson, guarded by Thunder big man Serge Ibaka on the high left side, make some room for himself with his behind-the-back dribble and knock down the shot from the top of the key.

"Coach drew up the play in the huddle and the rest his history," Johnson said.

Deron Williams led Brooklyn with 29 points and Paul Pierce scored 18. Both players keyed a 14-0 run near the end of the game that pulled the Nets out of a 10-point hole late and led them to only their second win in eight games.

The Thunder, who had won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams, coughed up a 16-point lead for the second time in a row. They led big against Portland on New Year's Eve and lost 98-94.

"That's tough to swallow, coming at the buzzer like that -- especially being up by so many points," said Kevin Durant, who led the Thunder with 24 points.

The Thunder are 1-3 in their last four games at home after starting 13-0.

Their only other back-to-back losses this season came Nov. 13 and 14 to the Clippers and Warriors.

"We have to do a better job of protecting leads," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "Especially on our home floor. We worked hard enough to get a 16-point lead and then we made a lot of mental mistakes that can be corrected."

Pierce hit a 3-pointer, then a fallaway shot on the right side during a key stretch of Brooklyn's late-game run. Williams made a 3 and a jumper from the left side that gave the Nets a 93-89 lead.

The Thunder showed fight at the end, with Durant and Ibaka making shots to tie the game. Ibaka's bank-shot with 5.8 seconds left tied the game and set up Johnson's heroics at the other end.

Earlier, Williams hit consecutive 3s to cap a 9-0 run in the third quarter that got the Nets within seven points after they were down by 16. Later, Derek Fisher scored a couple baskets in a row and Jeremy Lamb drained a 3 to key an 11-2 burst that put the Thunder back up by 16. They led 77-66 going into the fourth quarter.

The Nets shot better than 55 percent in the first quarter for a 29-26 lead -- but their hot hand went cold.

They shot under 18 percent in the second and the Thunder shot better than 61 percent to take control. Ibaka scored four points and *Durant knocked down a 3 during a 12-0 run in the middle of the quarter that gave Oklahoma City a 13- point lead.

The advantage reached as high as 16 and was 59-44 at halftime behind 15 points from Durant and 52.5 percent shooting.

Game Notes

Brooklyn snapped a four-game road losing streak ... The Thunder are at Minnesota on Saturday night ... The Nets are home vs. Cleveland on Saturday.