Nets' Allen Crabbe feeling fine with return of scoring touch

DALLAS — Shooting a basketball is as much an art as it is a function of mechanics. As far as Allen Crabbe could tell, the only mechanical flaw contributing to his recent shooting slump was taking place in the six inches between his ears. In short, the sense of feel that is so important to a pure shooter was out of sync with the rhythms of his body.

But that all changed in the Nets’ 119-113 loss to the Mavericks on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center. Yes, it was a tough road loss, but for the Nets, the sight of Crabbe putting the ball in the basket was a welcome development. He scored 27 points and shot 10-for-15, including 7-for-10 from three-point range.

“It’s big-time,” teammate D’Angelo Russell said of the appearance of the real Crabbe. “It’s good to see him make his shots and getting that rhythm back. It makes us that much more dangerous.”

It marked only the fifth time Crabbe had scored in double figures in 18 appearances this season, far surpassed his previous season high of 15 points and was his first time shooting over 50 percent. The performance relieved a lot of anxiety for Crabbe, who was as distressed as anyone by the clunkers he was throwing up.

“I just think it was thinking too much, really,” he said. “I mean, shoot the ball is what I do, and I was not making shots I normally would make. It was at the point where I wasn’t even making wide-open ones. Really, it was all mental, but you’ve got to realize it’s a long season and things will turn the corner.”

Crabbe was coming off a hot finish to last season, when he basically carried the Nets’ offense on a regular basis after the All-Star break. But he suffered an ankle injury in the second preseason game, missed the opener and then took a long time finding his form. When Caris LeVert suffered a dislocated ankle, Crabbe returned to the starting lineup five games ago, but he struggled until he found his stroke against the Mavericks.

If he can maintain it, starting Friday afternoon against the Timberwolves at Barclays Center, the Nets’ offense will be far more potent. “I know what I’m capable of doing,” he said. “It had nothing to do with skill set. It’s thinking too much, pressing too much. I wasn’t letting the game come to me, I wasn’t letting it flow.

“Now I’m feeling like my old self. Tonight, I had a big night. My teammates found me within the flow of the offense. It was just moving, moving without the ball and my teammates found me . . . ”

And thenit’s bombs away for Crabbe.

By Greg Logan

Gregory.Logan@newsday.comGregLogan1

Greg Logan has worked for Newsday since 1982 covering a wide array of sports and events, currently including the Brooklyn Nets beat.