Long-time Lakers fan Dinwiddie revels in shock Nets victory
- Spencer Dinwiddie grew up in Los Angeles as a Lakers fan, but the Brooklyn Nets guard inflicted defeat on the team he once supported.
![Spencer Dinwiddie - cropped](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 800 450"></svg>)
Spencer Dinwiddie said the Brooklyn Nets' shock 104-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers felt "big" after he hit the tie-breaking jumper at Staples Center.
Victory over the Western Conference-leading Lakers means the Nets are on a three-game winning streak.
Two of those successes have come since the Nets parted company with coach Kenny Atkinson, who has been replaced on an interim basis by Jacque Vaughn.
The Lakers saw their four-game winning streak halted after Anthony Davis (26 points) missed a last-gasp three-point shot.
Dinwiddie said: "It feels good because [the Lakers are] a high-quality opponent on the road, for sure; for a team that is doing its best right now and continuing to find itself, obviously it's going through injuries and the coaching change as well.
"There's been a ton of up and down and obviously they're one of the two, three [best] teams in the league, championship contenders - Lakers, Clippers and Bucks - so it's big for a group that's learning and is going to try to be a champion."
@Infor Final Numbers @SDinwiddie_25 | 23p | 7a | 4r@CarisLeVert | 22p | 7r | 4a@timcabs | 13p
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) March 11, 2020
Joe Harris | 12p | 3r@Chiozza11 | 11p | 5a@DeAndre | 8p | 12r#WeGoHard pic.twitter.com/aWKCbfgDZW
Dinwiddie, who was born in Los Angeles but has been with the Nets since 2016, admitted it felt sweet to hit the game-winner against the team he once held close to his heart.
"Normally I'd be pretty measured and I'm still pretty measured," he said. "But [I was a] lifelong Lakers fan up until six years ago when I got in the NBA, so this was pretty fun, especially because I know my parents probably really enjoyed it."
Recalling his crucial score, Dinwiddie added: "Everyone did a good job of cutting off my first drive, and then the second attempt was to the left and I was able to kind of get a step and just pull it up and I was fortunate enough to hit the shot."
LeBron James had 29 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers (49-14), while Dinwiddie led the Nets with 23 points.
Vaughn, who served as assistant to Atkinson, said in the post-game news conference: "It's great motivation for our group, great confidence for our group."
The interim coach added: "I talked earlier about how important that is in this game, gives us some momentum. I think there's something to be said about momentum. And then you get guys believing in each other. My job is to instil confidence in these guys and I'll continue to do that."
Vaughn confirmed the Nets would take Kevin Durant, who is battling back from injury but not ready to play games, back to his old team the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
Published 11 Mar 2020, 15:02 IST