NEW YORK -- With just 71 seconds remaining Monday night, the Brooklyn Nets trailed the Los Angeles Clippers by eight points.
A fifth consecutive loss seemed imminent.
But then something surprising happened: To borrow a line from the Simpsons, "Everything came up Nets."
The fun began with a 3-pointer by Deron Williams.
Then Joe Johnson inexplicably missed two free throws. Only this time, Brook Lopez tapped Johnson's second miss right back to him. Johnson took a few dribbles, moved well beyond the arc and buried a triple of his own.
Next, Jarrett Jack found Alan Anderson wide-open in the corner. Anderson made the 3 and was fouled by Blake Griffin, his sixth. Anderson made the ensuing free throw as well, completing a 10-0 run that gave the Nets a two-point lead.
It was short-lived, however. Chris Paul drove the lane for a layup. Tie game. Eight seconds left.
Brooklyn ball. Williams triggered in. The first option was a flair screen designed for Johnson to nail another buzzer-beater -- this one in the corner. Johnson was covered. No dice.
The second option was a 1-5 pick-and-roll between Jack and Lopez. Bingo. The Nets got the switch they wanted, which created a mismatch: Jack, at 6-foot-3, against 6-foot-11 DeAndre Jordan.
Jack used a crossover dribble to gain separation, dribbled again, hesitated a bit, then pulled up from 17 feet.
Jordan tried to contest. No matter. Book it. Nets 102, Clippers 100. One second remaining.
Jack ran and skipped down the court, doing his best Joe Jesus impersonation, as those who remained at Barclays Center went bonkers.
"It's called the 'One Thou Wow Shuffle,'" Jack said, adding that it's what Johnson did when he hit those four game-winning buzzer-beaters the previous two seasons. "Joe gave it the name. It's copyrighted and everything."
(Urban Dictionary defines a "Thou Wow" as $1,000.)
The Clippers threw the ball away at the other end, completing a collapse that seemed fitting a night after Pete Carroll gave away the Super Bowl by calling that slant pass at the 1-yard line.
The Nets (19-28) had their first win at home since Dec. 29. They improved to 4-20 against .500 or better teams. Their four-game losing streak was over.
"That was crazy. Like everything went perfectly right. You couldn't even script that," Jack said. "Spike [Lee] couldn't even make a better movie. That was a wild one, but we have to build on it.
The Nets' previous four losses had come by 39, 35, 11 and 5 points. The 39-point thrashing was at the hands of these same Clippers.
"They beat the s--- outta us," Jack said bluntly.
The Nets wouldn't let it happen again. Not this time.
The Clippers probably should have won, but they missed 17 free throws. The Nets missed 10. Jordan went 2-for-12. Mason Plumlee went 3-for-10. Both teams combined to shoot 37.2 percent from the stripe, the worst percentage during a game in NBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
At this point, the Nets will take what they can get. Lopez (24 points) and Johnson (22) went off. Both have been playing well at the same time. In their past three games, Lopez is averaging 25.7 points, Johnson 21.7.
Add in Williams (15 points in 29 minutes), and things look a lot better than they once did.
It's only one game. At least it's something to build on.
"I just needed a little separation," Jack said. "Right when it left my hand, I knew it was cash."