Last week, the Nets had an NBA-high 13 players in COVID-19, but after three postponements and a week off, it appeared the Nets might get well in a hurry as they built a 23-point fourth-quarter lead over the Lakers.
But the Nets almost made themselves sick by coughing up that entire lead as the Lakers tied it with 45 seconds to go before the Nets scored the final seven points to pull out a 122-115 Christmas Day victory Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The Nets improved their NBA-best road record to 12-3. The Nets lost all of a 17-point second-quarter lead as the Lakers briefly went in front early in the third quarter. But the Nets finished the third period on an extended 25-8 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Patty Mills to build a 102-82 lead.
