by Jordan Garretson, January 23, 2012

For the second time in three games, Deron Williams came within an eyelash of a triple-double and, not coincidentally, for the second time in three games the Nets left the Prudential Center victorious.

D-Will scored 19 points, dished out another 10 assists and grabbed nine rebounds as the Nets defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 97-87 on Sunday night in New Jersey. Deron's great performance left him one rebound shy of achieving the hallowed milestone for the first time in his career.

"It was close. I've been close a number of times," Deron said. "It will happen someday."

Sunday was not the night for D-Will's first triple double, but it was still a big night for No. 8 anyway, as he led the Nets to a much needed fifth victory.

Unlike New Jersey's win over the Warriors on Wednesday, when D-Will waited until the end to take over, Deron set the tone from the outset on Sunday, as noted by ESPN.com's Mike Mazzeo:

"Williams was in attack mode from the opening tip. After missing a 20-footer, the 27-year-old All-Star converted a driving layup, a finger-roll, a six-footer and a 3-pointer as the Nets turned a 7-0 hole into a 28-21 lead after the opening stanza -- their largest lead following a first quarter this season..."

No. 8's early scoring emerged as a result of more aggressive, attacking play from the Nets. He scored 11 of his 19 points in that first on 5-of-7 from the field and all but one of those five buckets came from inside 10 feet.

"I think we all made a conscious effort to come out and put a little more pressure on the defense," he said. "I just saw some openings. I was a little more aggressive, especially in the first half. Teammates were getting open, and the offense was flowing better."

Coach Avery Johnson told Mazzeo that the Nets were stressing an attacking style going into Sunday's game. Johnson felt being aggressive early would help his team get off to a faster start.

"That's something we talked about in shootaround," he said. "Having a better start, attacking the paint and getting better spacing." 

The game began in eerily familiar fashion for the slow-starting Nets, who dug themselves an early 7-0 deficit. But thanks to Deron's aggressiveness they soon turned things around using a 19-4 run to burst out to the lead. By halftime, New Jersey's advantage had ballooned to 16, 58-42. Deron scored 17 of his 19 in the first 24 minutes along with seven of his 10 assists.

In the second half, D-Will played facilitator, grabbing five rebounds and handing out three more assists as New Jersey cruised. They led by as much as 19 points in the fourth and survived a late scare when Charlotte trimmed the lead to 7 points with less than a minute to go. Johnson subbed Deron back in and Anthony Morrow followed with a dagger trey to seal it.

"It happens in NBA games," Johnson told the Star-Ledger. "Teams get up by 20 (and) you see it all the time. Guys lose focus. We're not the first team it's happened to. (You) try to get timeouts to keep our guys settled down. They did a nice job."

The victory came one night after an 84-74 loss to Oklahoma City. D-Will finished with 14 points, 6 assists, and four rebounds, but the Nets tied a season-low by shooting 31 percent from the floor, including a 3-for-23 mark from 3-point range.

After the game, Deron told The New York Post's Tim Bontemps that the Nets didn't enter the season planning on relying so heavily on jump shots. That the different style of play has come out of necessity due to Brook Lopez's injury:

But then Lopez went down with a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, an injury diagnosed after the second preseason game against the Knicks at the Garden. Not only did the Nets lose one of their two best players, but they lost the only player on their roster capable of consistently scoring with his back to the basket.

That has profoundly changed the makeup of the team and, as Williams said, made them almost exclusively a jump-shooting team. And when those jump shots aren't falling, as we've said countless times since the season began, the Nets simply don't have a Plan B.

The weekend split leaves New Jersey with a 5-12 record, but just two games out of a playoff spot with much of the season to play. D-Will said there have been encouraging signs for the Nets considering the barrage of early-season hurdles they have already had to deal with.

"We're making strides," he said. "We're getting better… It's been a tough situation for all of us, with the injuries and the late start and a really hectic schedule. Our schedule's probably been one of the toughest in the NBA. We're definitely not really happy with our record, but we're happy with the progress we've made day to day."

NEXT UP

D-Will and the Nets travel to Chicago tonight to complete the third part of their only back-to-back-to-back set of the season with a game against the league-best 15-3 Bulls.

The game will pit D-Will against another one of the league's top point guards in Derrick Rose, who has missed the last few of Chicago's games, but it expected to return tonight.

"He's one of the best players in the league," Deron said. "He puts so much pressure on defenses, and I don't think there's anyone personally that can guard him by themselves. Now that he's improved his shooting, he's tough to guard." 

The game can be seen at 8 p.m. EST on YES. 

RELATED STORIES

• D-Will finishes rebound shy of triple-double (ESPN New York, Jan. 23)
• Nets beat Charlotte Bobcats, 97-87, in finale of three-game homestand (The Star-Ledger, Jan. 22)
• Nets fall to Oklahoma City, 84-74, say arena may be reason for shooting troubles (The Star-Ledger, Jan. 22)
• Looking back at Nets-Thunder (The New York Post, Jan. 22)
• Nets finally Rock stars, win for second time at home (The Record, Jan. 23, 2012)