Nets hold on to big lead this time as defense leads way for win over Grizzlies

MEMPHIS, Tenn.— Tuesday, the Nets had built and blown a huge lead in a heartbreaker against the Nuggets.

A night later in Memphis, they closed the deal.The Nets defended their way to a two-touchdown cushion against the Grizzlies, and this time they held on for a 119-106 win before a crowd of 14,745 at FedEx Forum on Wednesday.New Nets coach Jordi Fernandez has preached physical disruptive defense, albeit without the foul trouble that has plagued them early this season.Perhaps his gamesmanship in the press made a difference, or perhaps his early technical for chastising the refs did.

Either way, with the free-throw discrepancy nearly a wash (29 for the Grizzlies to the Nets’ 25) for the first time all season, Brooklyn picked up a huge road win.Pressuring the ball, the Nets forced 22 turnovers for 31 points.Dennis Schroder continued his white-hot streak with a game-high 33 points — his most as a Net — eight assists and 6-for-9 from deep.The guard became the first Net ever with 25 points, five assists and five 3s in three straight games.But it was his stellar defense on Ja Morant that turned the game.The Grizzlies star still flirted with a triple-double with 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, but Schroder and the Brooklyn defense held him largely in check on 5-for-16 shooting and just 1-for-6 from deep.“He is very slippery,” Fernandez said of Morant, who had been questionable to play with a sore thigh.

“Very slippery, and very fast.And again, we haven’t seen something like that yet.

I mean, he’s very unique.It’s not like there’s two like him.

So [Tuesday’s] challenge was very different than [Wednesday].“And it’s very good for our group, because, again, game plan changes, because now is that type of player that is very fast and touches the paint a lot, that creates a lot, not just scoring, but also opportunities for his teammates.And we’ve, you know, we’ve talked about it, we’ve planned about it, and now we have to execute ...