The New Jersey Nets have officially gotten their groove back. After dropping 11-of-12 games, the Nets completed a homestand in which they won three of four with a 93-88 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. The last time the Nets won three games on a homestand was February 2007.
After going ahead 2-0, the Nets were down 16 at the end of the first quarter and did not hold another lead until 6:05 left in the fourth quarter.
For the first time in eight games, a player other than Brook Lopez led New Jersey in scoring. Anthony Morrow had that distinction, pouring in 19 points off the bench. Lopez added 17 while Kris Humphries and Sasha Vujacic each had 14.
Rudy Gay scored 22 points and Zach Randolph had 20 and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Grizzlies who had won three in a row before visiting Newark. The reserves failed to help the Memphis big guns, getting outscored by the Nets bench 56-12.
The Nets swept the season series after taking down the Grizzlies 101-94 on December 21. The two teams have now alternated sweeping the season series over the last five years. Memphis took the series in 2007-08 and 2009-10 with the Nets winning in 2006-07, 2008-09 and now 2010-11.
Avery Johnson will now have to take his winning show on the road for a short two-game road trip starting Friday against the Indiana Pacers.