Newark, NJ – In a premier point-guard matchup between Chris Paul and Deron Williams, it was a backup point guard who played the role of hero on Wednesday.
Jordan Farmar's three-pointer with less than a second remaining lifted the New Jersey Nets to a thrilling 101-100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Farmar finished with 16 points while Williams had 21 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for the Nets, who are 5-5 over their past 10 games.
Chris Paul filled the stat sheet with 22 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals while Blake Griffin added a double-double with 28 points and 17 boards for Los Angeles, which has lost three of its last four games. Randy Foye nailed five treys en route to 24 points.
The Nets took their largest lead, 71-53, midway through the third quarter after MarShon Brook's three-pointer, but Griffin helped the Clippers claw back into the contest.
He scored 10 points in the final 5:48 of the frame as the Clippers trailed, 80-71, heading into the fourth.
Foye's triple followed by Paul's steal and layup tied the game at 88 with 4:34 left in the fourth.
The Nets made just one of their first 12 attempts from the field in the fourth until Kris Humphries' elbow jumper gave the hosts a 97-93 advantage with 1:33 remaining.
A bit later, Foye banked in a shot from the right wing while drawing the foul on Brooks. He made the subsequent free throw to knot the game at 98 with 38 ticks to go.
After Anthony Morrow missed a triple on New Jersey's ensuing possession, Paul drew a foul on Shelden Williams with eight seconds to play. He sunk both free throws to give Los Angeles a two-point edge.
After a Nets timeout, Deron Williams got the inbounds but was double teamed well away from the basket.
He found a wide-open Farmar on the right wing and his shot hit nothing but net with 0.2 seconds left.
Deron Williams dished out six assists and Brooks scored nine points as the Nets led, 27-22, after one.
New Jersey continued to front-run in the second and Brooks' jumper at the first-half buzzer gave the hosts a 57-45 lead heading into the locker room.
Game Notes
Both teams shot well from beyond the arc. Los Angeles was 11-of-22 while New Jersey nailed 10-of-25...The Nets assisted on 24 of their 33 field goals...Shelden Williams had 15 points and 10 rebounds while Brooks added 19 points.
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