NBA: Deron Williams goes off, Nets hang on to beat Lakers in Collins' debut

LOS ANGELES - Jason Collins became the first openly gay player to appear in an NBA game, and his Brooklyn Nets ended their losing ways against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday (Monday, PHL time).

Point guard Deron Williams compiled 30 points, seven assists and six steals, and forward Paul Pierce produced 18 of his 25 points in the first half, leading the Nets to a 108-102 victory over the Lakers before an announced crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center.

#Nets get the 108-102 win! Time to celebrate another @PartyCity win in BK! pic.twitter.com/vvV2UYYO3A

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 24, 2014

The win allowed the Nets (26-28) to snap an 11-game losing streak to the Lakers. Los Angeles (19-37), which stopped a franchise-record eight-game home losing streak when they beat the Boston Celtics on Friday night, lost for the fifth time in six games overall.

Collins, who signed a 10-day contract with Brooklyn earlier in the day, entered the game with 10:28 left in the second quarter. The 35-year-old center and 12-year NBA veteran played for the first time since announcing he was gay last year.

He finished with no points, two rebounds, one steal and five fouls in 11 minutes.

The Nets, who led by as many as 19 in the first half, cruised to a 63-47 lead at the break. They converted 57.9 percent (22-of-38) of their first-half field-goal attempts, including seven of 14 on three-pointers, compared to 46.3 percent (19-of-41) for the Lakers. Los Angeles made four of eight from behind the arc before intermission.

Overall, Brooklyn shot 47.4 percent (36-of-76) to 51.3 percent (39-of-76) for the Lakers.

The Lakers, who never led, rallied in the third quarter. A three-point basket by reserve forward MarShon Brooks pulled them to within 80-74, but two three-pointers by forward Mirza Teletovic increased Brooklyn's lead to 86-74 heading into the fourth quarter.

A tip-in by Brooks cut the margin to 89-83 with about nine minutes remaining, and forward Nick Young's basket pulled the Lakers to within four. However, the Nets padded their lead again when Williams nailed a jumper for a 97-86 advantage with 5:47 remaining.

The Lakers closed to within four points but got no closer.

Forward Pau Gasol scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Los Angeles. Guard Jodie Meeks finished with 19 points, while forward Kent Bazemore, obtained in a trade last week, had 17 points. - Reuters


The scores:

NETS 108 - Williams 30, Pierce 25, Blatche 10, Kirilenko 10, Johnson 10, Teletovic 9, Anderson 8, Plumlee 6, Collins 0, Teague 0

LAKERS 102 - Gasol 2, Meeks 19, Bazemore 17, Hill 11, Young 10, Kama 8, Brooks 7, Johnson 3, Farmar 3, Marshall 2

Brooklyn          33-30-23-22
Los Angeles    21-26-27-28