We are in the third quarter, the Warriors have just regained a 12-point lead when the Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez calls for a time-out, with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the period. Fifty-two seconds of play later, the Nets technician does it again, annoyed by his players, now trailing by 18 points. This minute could have remained anecdotal in a match until then dominated without incident by Golden State. It will ultimately be the driving force behind the visitors' resounding comeback, driven by Dennis Schröder.
At 86-68, the Nets put their heads back together, signing an immediate 11-0 to get back together. Before completely turning the match around in the fourth quarter, largely thanks to an incandescent Dennis Schröder. The German was keen to make up for it, having been in his coach's sights a few minutes earlier.
“ Jordi had drawn a system earlier and I screwed it up » admitted, a little embarrassedthe leader of Brooklyn. “ He took a timeout, yelled at me and told me to be better than that. And everyone had energy after that, everyone was into it. We started playing the right way and from there we made some defensive stops. »
“A coach on the floor”
Quickly placed on the bench following this bad sequence, Dennis Schröder returned to the game two minutes from the end of the third quarter. Four minutes later, the German world champion had scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers. And the gap went from +7 for the Warriors to +3 for the Nets.
It was enough to launch Dennis Schröder, a series striker who is best avoided to let catch fire. But Golden State was never able to find the solution, conceding 41 points in the last quarter, including 17 from the leader of the “Mannschaft”, involved in two thirds of its points over the period. “ I was just aggressive, took open shots and my teammates set great screens for me » he summarized. “ I had access to the circle, and I just had to be aggressive, to be myself. »
Without Cam Thomas, hit in the back, nor Cam Johnson, released in the first half after falling on the foot of Draymond Green, Dennis Schröder took responsibility to finish the match with 31 points at 10/18 shooting, 7 assists assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
“ He took control of the match, of our lead » welcomed Jordi Fernandez at a press conference. “ He put everyone in the right place on both ends of the floor, and leadership like that is like having a coach on the floor. When that kind of thing happens, I let him do what he has to do, and if he has a question for me, I try to give him the answer. »
And when it is a little more muscular, it gives an ultra positive reaction, and another strong victory for the Nets determined not to throw away any encounters.
