Nets hold off LeBron James-less Lakers behind impressive defense to snap seven-game skid

After blowing huge leads in back-to-back games against Golden State and Charlotte, when the Nets got the Lakers down on Monday, they kept them down.The Nets put together a slump-busting 111-108 victory over the Lakers before a sellout crowd of 18,215 at Barclays Center.The win snapped a seven-game losing skid that was the longest in the NBA and tied for the Nets’ worst of the season.“It’s part of experience, right?” coach Jordi Fernández said beforehand.“When I was a little kid, my dad would tell me all the time, ‘Don’t do this, otherwise you’ll get hurt.’ And guess what? I did it, I got hurt, and that’s how I learned.

So, it’s [part of] parenting.“And our guys are great for the most part.They learn and they listen.

And I don’t have all the answers.I’ll tell them, ‘You know, I’m wrong too.’ But … our guys care, and I know we can be a better rebounding team than we were last game.

And our guys know that, so I trust them that they’re gonna come out with a better effort.”Monday’s effort was impressive.And the Nets (22-42) didn’t suffer in the lottery race either, staying half a game behind fifth-place Toronto, though falling even with Philadelphia in a tie for sixth.Noah Clowney had 19 points and five rebounds off the bench in his second game back after missing six weeks with an ankle injury.Keon Johnson — who turned 23 Monday — and Cam Johnson had 18 points each.But it was defense that won the day.The Nets piled up a 19-4 edge in points off turnovers.

That was more than enough to survive Luka Doncic’s triple-double (22 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists) and Gabe Vincent’s 24 points.The Lakers were without LeBron James and former Net Dorian Finney-Smith.But the Nets had their own worries, playing without Cam Thomas and Trendon Watford.

And they did it on a seven-game skid, having blown a 22-point lead against the Warriors on Thursday and a 17-point cushion at the Hornets on Saturday.This time, though, the Nets...