Mavericks’ J.J. Barea gets the best of Nets’ Brook Lopez in Dallas win

J.J. Barea surveyed the pick-and-roll landscape late in the game and knew he had fallen into a perfect situation.

Time and time again Sunday afternoon at the Barclays Center, the Dallas Mavericks guard found himself on the perimeter being meekly challenged by Brooklyn Nets 7-foot center Brook Lopez.

Despite being only 6-feet tall, Barea fired in four consecutive jumpers over Lopez — the fourth one a 3-pointer – to fuel the Mavs to their 111-104 triumph over the Nets.

It was almost like a cat-and-mouse game for Barea, who scored nine straight points and obviously got the best of Lopez.

“Well, I knew Lopez was backing off a lot so I couldn’t get the lob to Nerlens (Noel),” Barea said. “The mid-range (jump shot) was there and it was going in, so I was looking for it more often.”

Caught in a bad spot four straight times, Lopez couldn’t produce the necessary defense to stop Barea.

“He was just entirely too comfortable,” Lopez said. “And that’s where I think I’ve just gotta read the situation and make a decision myself in the middle of the game where I’ve gotta step up, pressure him more and rely on my teammates for help.”

The Mavs were only up 94-92 before Barea scored those nine consecutive points to increase the lead to 103-96 with 2:16 left.

“Yeah, big shots, that’s what he does,” Dirk Nowitzki said of Barea. “He’s great in pick-and-rolls.

“We made a couple from mid-range and they went on a run at the last, and he made a big three. He’s made big plays for this franchise for a long time.”

Nets coach Kenny Atkinson lamented the huge baskets by Barea, who was the primary reason Brooklyn dropped to 13-56 on the season.

“I think two or three of them were mid-range ones, which we don’t give up — we still want to contest them,” Atkinson said. “But they’re good shots for him.

“Then he hit the three, that was a killer. I thought that was the nail in the coffin, because he hit those mid-range (shots). We were going over on the mid-range ones, then we went under and he made us pay. He made the big plays down the stretch.”

Barea wound up with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and added seven assists and two steals in 27 minutes.

With the victory, the Mavs (30-39) salvaged a split of the four-game road trip. They also safely filed away Friday’s 42-point humiliating loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and can now turn their attention to a four-game homestand that starts Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors.

“Yeah, we were disappointed in Philly, but we were locked in today,” Barea said. “We came out with a lot of energy, from the warm-ups to in the locker room — it was a good feeling.

“The starters came out on fire today with a lot of energy, and we were able to hold them off.”

Thanks in large part to the shooting exhibition by Barea.

This story was originally published March 19, 2017 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Mavericks’ J.J. Barea gets the best of Nets’ Brook Lopez in Dallas win."