Brooklyn Nets wish Spencer Dinwiddie would dunk more
Monday 16 December 2019 07:42, UK
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said he wished Spencer Dinwiddie would dunk more after the guard threw down a thunderous slam as Brooklyn snapped the Philadelphia 76ers’ winning streak.
Dinwiddie has been on the receiving end of some friendly banter from his Brooklyn team-mates, especially Kyrie Irving, over not using his athleticism to rise above the rim.
He took the opportunity on Sunday night against the 76ers and former team-mate Tobias Harris, scoring 24 points and firing up the Brooklyn bench with an impressive jam on an inbound pass from Garrett Temple, as the Nets went on to beat the 76ers 109-89.
"We showed it again in the locker room in the end and they got a big kick out of that," Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said.
"I don't think people realise how good an athlete Spencer is. You could argue our best athlete. He is fast. He has got an incredible vertical. He's unbelievable. It doesn't surprise me. I wish he'd do it more."
Dinwiddie credited Temple's pass for his rim-shaking moment.
"Honestly, it was a great pass by 'GT' (Garrett Temple). I believe he threw it right over Tobias' ear," Dinwiddie said. "I wouldn't have dunked it if they hadn't been calling fouls. So I was like, 'Oh, OK, he is under the rim, he'll probably foul me. But then I was like, 'Man, I ain't gonna get no free throws out of this."
Dinwiddie has scored more 20 points in each of Brooklyn's last four games. He is notched 17 20-point games this season after doing so 18 times last year.
With All-Star center Joel Embiid sitting out with an upper respiratory illness, the 76ers did not have much of an answer for Dinwiddie and the Nets, who scored 64 points in the paint.
Ben Simmons scored 20 points and Tobias Harris chipped in 17 for the Sixers, whose five-game winning streak ended.
"He is aggressive. He is very talented. He gets downhill, loves downhill," Simmons said of Dinwiddie. "He just plays. He plays with freedom. I love the way he plays, but he dominates."
The 89 points allowed to Philadelphia marked the fewest given up by the Nets this season.
Brooklyn got a lift from their bench, with reserves scoring 23 first-half points en route to a 57-43 lead at half-time. For the game, the Nets bench outscored Philadelphia's 40-23.
Dinwiddie's dunk midway through the third quarter sparked the Nets, who blitzed Philadelphia with a 10-0 run, capped by his pass to Jarrett Allen for an alley-oop jam that stretched the lead to 76-58 with 3:03 left.
The 76ers didn't do themselves any favors during that stretch by missing seven shots.
"They are really hard to guard, especially Spencer Dinwiddie's ability to get into the paint," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said.
