D'Angelo Russell, DeMarre Carroll help Nets surge past Grizzlies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It’s a new year, and the Nets are showing newfound toughness and late-game poise.

They opened a three-game road trip with a 109-100 win over a desperate Grizzlies team Friday night at FedEx Forum. It was their 11th victory in 14 games and allowed them to take over the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by percentage points over the idle Pistons.

In the past, the physical Grizzlies have tended to outmuscle the Nets, but that wasn’t the case this time. Although the Grizzlies outscored the Nets 58-40 in the paint, the Nets outrebounded them 45-40 and made all the tough plays down the stretch in a game that was tight through three quarters.

Starting with a three-pointer by D’Angelo Russell near the end of the third quarter, the Nets put together an 18-7 run that included a trio of threes by DeMarre Carroll to forge a 95-87 lead with 6:43 to play.

Three consecutive plays captured the Nets’ toughness as Joe Harris scored a three-point play through contact, caught a brilliant lob from Russell for a layup and fed Jarrett Allen for a dunk and a 104-94 lead with 3:20 to go. The Nets went ahead by 12 moments later and brought it home.

“I think it’s an underestimated thing that is one of the reasons we’ve improved a lot,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We’ve improved physically. In the past, we’d get overwhelmed physically with these types of players. Tonight, we withstood it, and we’ve withstood it in other games against older veteran teams.”

Russell led the Nets (19-21) with 23 points and 10 assists. Carroll had 20 points, Harris added 18 and Allen had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Mike Conley Jr. topped the Grizzlies (18-20) with 31 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 19 and Marc Gasol was held to 13. The Nets’ bench outscored the Grizzlies reserves 51-20.

Asked if incoming veterans Ed Davis, Jared Dudley and Shabazz Napier have formed the backbone of this young team along with holdover vet Carroll, Harris said: “Yeah, 100 percent. You look at Ed Davis, DeMarre, Jared, those guys are coming in and they know how to play, first of all .  . . They typically make all the right plays and then they set the tone. They’re not letting anything easy happen. They’re the ones that are being the aggressors, dictating how the game is going to be played.”

Carroll, who is on a season-high streak of five straight games scoring in double figures since rounding into form after ankle surgery, is grateful for the added help this season. “Last year, we weren’t as physical,” he said. “We used to get beat on the boards. Now we’ve got more guys who don’t mind getting hit. You’ve got to give credit to Sean [Marks, the general manager] and Kenny for the guys they brought in.”

The other impressive element in the start of a three-game road trip was the play of the players Atkinson describes as his “quarterbacks.” In addition to Russell’s game, Spencer Dinwiddie had 13 points and five assists and Napier had 10 points and four assists. But Russell was special with his second straight game of at least 20 points and 10 assists.

He said even that is a byproduct of the Nets’ veteran influence. “I’m going on year four, so you learn a lot as you come in,” Russell said. “My teammates have given me the proper guidance to really learn and adjust. A veteran group of guys, they’ve really been doing that for me. I give a lot of the credit to them.

“We’re winning. I can speak for myself. I haven’t won a lot in this league. For me to get that type of success, I’m going to stick with it.”

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.