NEW YORK -- Hello, winning record.
Yes, for the first time this season, the Brooklyn Nets moved one game over the .500 mark, routing the Memphis Grizzlies 103-94 Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
What it means: The Nets (30-29) have won four straight games and improved to 13-2 in their past 15 at home. They are 20-8 since Jan. 1, which is quite good.
They did it with the 3-point shot Wednesday night, going 15-for-26 from downtown. In all, the Nets shot 51.4 percent from the field.
Marcus Thornton (20 points) had his second 20-point performance in his past three games. Consider this: In his first 48 games of the season, he had three such performances. He had 15 of his points in the second quarter.
Joe Johnson (21 points), Deron Williams (16 points, seven assists), Paul Pierce (14 points, eight rebounds) and Andray Blatche (12 points) also finished in double-figure scoring. Mirza Teletovic, 1-for-his previous 9 from 3, went 2-for-4 from deep and chipped in eight points.
The Nets jumped out to a 21-2 lead as the Grizzlies missed 10 of their first 11 shots.
Memphis would get as close as four. Brooklyn led by as many as 30, outscoring Memphis 33-16 in the third quarter. Oh, the Nets have actually become a good third-quarter team.
Check this: In 31 games prior to Jan. 1, the Nets were being outscored by an average of 3.3 points per game in third quarters. In 28 games since Jan. 1, the Nets are outscoring their opponents by an average of 3.3 points per game in third quarters. Credit where it’s due on this one.
It should be noted that the reserves let the lead slip to single digits late in the fourth, forcing the starters to have to come back in. But things ended up OK. Jason Collins played a season-high 17 minutes, by the way.
Mike Conley went 0-for-8 from the field and had two points. The Grizzlies missed Zach Randolph, who did not play due to the flu.
No KG: Kevin Garnett missed his third straight game due to back spasms. It didn’t matter. The Nets have won four straight without him (5-5 overall). The Nets are the first team in the NBA this season to record 12 or more steals in four straight games.
Up next: The Nets head back to Boston to face the Celtics at TD Garden Friday night.